gold star for USAHOF

41. Matt Murray

41. Matt Murray

Usually, Goalies are not unsung heroes in Stanley Cup wins, but a case could be made that Matt Murray falls into this category.

Murray toiled in the minors for two years before he was called up late in the 2015-16 Season, and he logged almost all of the minutes in between the pipes during the Penguins Stanley Cup win.  The Penguins also had Marc-Andre Fleury, who was arguably the better Goalie, but he was injured, and Murray looked like he was a superstar on the rise, though it was Sidney Crosby and company that gained the bulk of the attention.

Although he was already a Stanley Cup Champion, Murray was Calder eligible, finishing fourth for the honor and securing an All-Rookie nod with a 2.41 GAA and .923 Save Percentage, his best year in Pittsburgh.  The Penguins again repeated as Stanley Cup Champions, though he shared netminding duties with Fleury in their repeat.

Despite his youth, Murray seemed to regress and dealt with concussion issues.  After two more years in Pittsburgh, Murray was traded to the Ottawa Senators.  As a Penguin, Murray won two Cups, and had a very good record of 117-53-19.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Goalie
  • Acquired: Selected in the 3rd Round, 83rd Overall in the Amateur Draft 6/22/12
  • Departed: Traded to the Ottawa Senators for the 2020 2nd Round Pick (which would be Jonathan Gruden) 10/7/20.
  • Games Played: 199
  • Notable Statistics:

    117 Wins
    53 Losses
    19 Ties
    11 Shutouts
    2.67 Goals Against Average
    .914 Save Percentage
    35.2 Goalie Point Shares 

    51 Playoff Games
    29 Wins
    21 Losses
    6 Shutouts
    2.18 Goals Against Average
    .921 Save Percentage

  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    Stanley Cup Champion (2016 & 2017)

Comments powered by CComment