Senators Acquired Murray from Penguins

A few moments before Round 2 of the NHL Draft started, the @Ottawa Senators and @Pittsburgh Penguins agreed on a deal that sent RFA goalie @Matt Murray to the Senators.

In return, the Penguins received prospect Jonathan Gruden and a 2020 second-round pick (No.52), which they used to select Finnish goaltender Joel Blomqvist.

Last week the Penguins signed @Tristan Jarry to a three-year contract extension, making it obvious they were moving on from Murray. With so many goalies about to hit the free-agent market, including @Braden Holtby, @Corey Crawford and @Jacob Markstrom among others, Pittsburgh maximized his value by trading him before Friday.

Murray is coming off of a down year, going 20-11-5 with a 2.87 GAA and .899 SV%. Since he became a starter in 2017, Murray ranks 12th in the NHL in wins (108), tied for 20th in GAA (2.71) and tied for 21st in SV% (.913). Murray will replace @Craig Anderson as the Penguins’ No.1 with @Anders Nilsson serving as his backup. The acquisition pushes @Marcus Hogberg back to the AHL. Murray was tendered for $3.75 million by the Penguins but still does not have an extension in place with the Senators.

As for the Penguins return, Gruden is a former fourth-round pick (2018). He transferred from Miami (Ohio) University to the OHL (London Knights) in 2020 and he was second on the team in goals (30) and fourth in points (66). Blomqvist was the No.3 ranked European netminder (NHL Central Scouting) who had a .931 SV% in 34 games with Kärpät U20 last year.