By waiving Matt Murray, the Senators are taking a huge risk
There has been fewer more significant player moves this season than the Ottawa Senators placing Matt Murray on waivers Saturday afternoon.
Acquired a little over a year ago, Murray’s time in Canada’s capital has been… less than ideal. The two-time Cup winner joined the Senators and was expected to take the reins of the club’s starting goalie spot and run with it.
Instead, Murray has fallen flat.
In the 33 games he’s played in Ottawa, he’s posted a 10-18-1 record, a .892 save percentage and allowed 3.35 goals-against average. He’s seemingly unable to make the stops he’s needed and to start this campaign, he’s gone 0-5 in the six games he’s played.
But the truth of the matter is that Murray has had little run support since joining the Sens. In the last two years, no team has allowed more 5×5 shot attempts per hour against than them. The only team to allow more goals against per hour than the Senators’ 3 are the Seattle Kraken.
In Pittsburgh before joining the Senators, Murray had been a rock solid goaltender. Over 199 games, he posted a 117-53-19 record, a .914 save percentage and saved 12.2 goals-above average. There, Murray had the run support. The Pens were posted consistently average underlying numbers and that was enough to support Murray in the crease.
Murray’s significant contract isn’t helpful, either. He has two years remaining on a contract paying him an AAV of $6.25-million, according to PuckPedia.
The message this sends to the Senators players and fans is difficult one. Murray is still just 27-years-old and right in the prime of his career. According to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, the waiver move “may be nothing more than a wakeup call to try to get Murray back on track.” The Senators are willing to send Murray down to the AHL for him to work on his game, but in the same breath, this is far from the ideal way to motivate someone who needs to be one of your best players.
Garrioch also reported that Murray’s camp isn’t happy with the Senators decision, which is understandable. Murray still is an important part of this franchise and by placing him on waivers, they are showing they are willing to let him walk to another franchise — a massive risk considering the only two other goaltenders on the roster are Filip Gustavsson and Anton Forsberg, both of whom who have numbers similar to Murray’s.
While Gustavsson is still young at 23 and went on a nice run in 2020-21, neither of them have proven they can take the reins and run with it. And in the Senators system, there’s no apparent heir to the throne.
There’s a number of teams in the league that are needy for goaltenders. The Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes both have sub-par goaltending, at best.
No matter who is in net for the Senators, they will struggle. It’s a team that’s isn’t built to be highly competitive and they have a weak backend and now, they could lose one of their most important players for nothing.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.