Ex-Penguins Update: February 4, 2021

1. Rick

   Appreciate the info – always good to see how former Pen’s are
   doing around the league.

   I had a chance to see Murray play and his confidence hasn’t
   improved since the Pen’s traded him. He’s playing scared
   and letting in a bunch of bad goals. “Really shaky”

   GO PENS

   1. Thanks Mike.

      I’m always curious about how former Pens are doing…it’s nice to know other folks are too.

      I’ve been watching Murray, too, and man is it ugly. Of course Ottawa’s a pretty weak team, so it’s not like he’s getting a ton of support. But he’s also letting in his share of bad goals…to the extent that the Senators have been turning to their backup Marcus Hogberg.

      I’ve been bemoaning Matheson’s contract. But Ottawa can’t be too happy right now with being locked into a four-year deal with Murray for $6.25 million per season.

      It always amazes me how a goalie can go from being lights out to cannon fodder. But hockey’s literally a game of inches. And if a goalie loses confidence and starts shying away instead of challenging shooters he can go down the tubes real fast.

      Hope he pulls out of it.

      Rick

      1. Hey Rick,

         You strike again. No sooner do you call out Matt Murray and he goes and rejects 36 of 38 Mtl Shots last night. He still is in the bottom 10 of the league, but he is ahead of Tristan Jarry. Interestingly enough, both of these Goalies are struggling behind some horrible teams. As you note Ottawa is bad, tied for 2nd worst regulation record in the league, only behind SJS. Unfortunately for Jarry, he plies his trade for the 4th worst team in terms of regulation play., our Pgh Pens, who are only ahead of SJS, Ott, and Det.

         JR’s and Sullivan’s bill is coming due and it is looking really steep.

         As for Murray, as we talked the other day, Rick, seems to me it is in his coaching. He needs a coach like Bales who seemed to force him to play more aggressive and on top of his crease. When Murray took advantage of his size and positioning he controlled his game, now it seems he is trying to be something he is not, a reaction goalie. However, it would seem to be his own fault, from what I understood, he was the one that didn’t want Bales.

         Going along with this Murray discussion, have either of you looked at the bottom feeding goalie list this year, there are a lot of big names with Sv% below 0.900, Price 0.899, Hart 0.898, Holtby 0.896, Rask 0.888, Rinne 0.885, Quick 0.885, Lehner 0.885 (last season’s darling), Bobrovsky 0.881, Jones 0.871 (the guy from SJS Murray beat for the first Cup, but who many tried to say was better than Murray).

         1. Hey Other Rick,

            I’m not taking shots at Murray…I’m just stating fact. He’s struggling.

            A couple of recent articles about him:
            In the PG: “What in the world has happened to Matt Murray?” by Ron Cook. And a better, more reasoned article about him on Sportsnet…”Senators must restore Matt Murray’s confidence as losses pile up”

            Interesting to note that in a poll on The Athletic among NHL coaches and front office personnel, Murray was rated 22nd out of the 31 starting goaltenders.

            Not sure where I read it, but his glove hand, puckhandling issues and lack of athleticism were cited as issues. It basically said that if he isn’t letter-perfect on his positioning and angles, that he’s vulnerable.

            That’s what I seem to remember about him from the Cup years. That along with an almost preternatural coolness, he was always on his angles and rarely out of position.

            Rick

            1. Hey Rick,

               I didn’t think you were picking on Murray. You really are just stating facts. I was just noting how every time you call someone out, they respond with a big game immediately following. If for no other reason than that, if I am hire as the Pens next GM I am hiring you as an Asst Coach for Sully and your job will be to call out players who are struggling so they can find their groove again. It never fails. I can’t remember a time when a player didn’t have a big game after you turned the spot light on their flaws.

               I still like Murray and wish he would find himself a coach like Bales again. I don’t think his glove is as bad as many say, but I agree, he is not an athletic (reaction) goalie, he needs to stay within himself as a stand up goalie. My biggest complaint about him is how slow he is getting back up off the ice once he gets down on the ice (athleticism).

            2. Rick

               It’s not the goals scored against a goaltender it’s how the
               goals were scored – That’s the problem I have with Murray!

               Although he’s on a horrible team the goals he let slip past
               him had zero to do with the defense or team in front of him.

               It was the same type of goals that drove me crazy during his time with the Pen’s.

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