Matt Murray’s time in Pittsburgh will be remembered as one of the more complex ones in Penguins history. Just listen to his former general manager.
On Wednesday, Jim Rutherford pulled the trigger on a trade to send Murray to Ottawa for a second-round pick and forward prospect Jonathan Gruden.
Hours later, and after selecting a pair of goalies in the NHL Draft, Rutherford met with the media, and opened up on how he viewed Murray’s up-and-down time in a Penguins sweater.
“I think there’s something in the mental part of the game that fell on him when he was the guy,” Rutherford said. “Those first two years it was him and (Marc-Andre) Fleury. They were good for each other. They had a very friendly competition and they cheered for each other.
“When you lose a guy like Fleury and you become just the guy — and he had a good backup in Casey (DeSmith) — but maybe not the level of what Fleury did for him and how he pushed him and how he supported him.
“I think from a mental point of view that maybe became a bit of an adjustment that never took full hold.”
Murray was an instrumental piece of the Penguins’ Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. Technically, he was a rookie when both championships were won. During that time, he battled Marc-Andre Fleury for playing time, something Rutherford sited as a driving force in the 2016 and 2017 postseasons.
In 2016, Murray paced the Penguins to the Cup by playing 21 games, winning 15 of them.
The following year, Murray took over for Fleury in the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals and with the Penguins facing a 2-1 series deficit to Ottawa. He started each game the rest of the way, going 7-3 to claim Pittsburgh’s second straight title.
But after Fleury was traded to Vegas, Murray's play was inconsistent, resulting in a career-low .899 save percentage this past season, one in which backup Tristan Jarry emerged as an All-Star.
Rutherford clearly feels Murray is better suited to have a strong goalie presence around him, but that Murray is deserving of more praise.
“There’s a little bit to the fact that maybe Matt didn’t get the credit that he deserved or thought he was going to get for being a big part of winning the Cup,” Rutherford said.
Rutherford continues to break the back-to-back Cup winning band up, having traded winger Patric Hornqvist already this offseason. Defenseman Justin Schultz will not be back, as well.
Despite the criticism, he did have kind parting words for Murray.
“There’s not a player that I don’t trade or don’t let go that doesn’t bother me personally,” he said. “Especially when you get to deal with these guys that gave so much to win the Stanley Cup.
“This is hard. But we don’t have a choice. It’s part of our system.”