NHL trade rumors: Top 5 trade candidates this offseason
2. Matt Murray
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Position: Goaltender
Cap hit: N/A (restricted free agent)*
Term: N/A (restricted free agent)
No-trade clauses: None
*$3.75 million qualifying offer and arbitration eligible
Matt Murray‘s the first goaltender to appear on this list. And the only one, for that matter. Back in 2017, the Pittsburgh Penguins had to make the difficult decision to part ways with Marc-Andre Fleury. It was Matt Murray’s time to take over the net. Three years later, it’s Tristan Jarry’s time to take over the net and Murray’s time to leave.
Even in a goalie market saturated with options, Murray should have no shortage of suitors. His numbers since winning his second Stanley Cup in 2017 haven’t been that great, but when healthy, Murray has proven to be at worst an average goaltender.
What makes Murray especially intriguing is he’s still relatively young at just 26 years old. Almost all of, if not all of, the other goalies on the market, both free agent and trade, are older than that. Murray could serve as a short-term option for teams hoping to find their long-term option. One can assume an extension would be a part of any trade for him.
More. Top 3 Teams Who Should Trade For Matt Murray. light
Potential Suitors
The Calgary Flames need to add a goaltender, as it appears Cam Talbot will test the free agent market. Murray would make sense for them, especially if the Flames don’t want to sign Robin Lehner or Braden Holtby to a long-term deal.
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Vancouver Canucks enter the goalie market if they don’t re-sign Jacob Markstrom. They likely wouldn’t be going after the big-ticket goalies, so Murray would probably make sense for them.