West Notes: Golden Knights, Kravtsov, Murphy
With Alex Pietrangelo’s playing career likely over, the Golden Knights have a big hole to fill on their back end but beyond swapping Nicolas Hague for Jeremy Lauzon (and center Colton Sissons), Vegas hasn’t made any other moves on the blueline. It doesn’t appear that will change either. In an interview for The Athletic with Pierre LeBrun (subscription link), GM Kelly McCrimmon indicated that he thinks his roster is set for the upcoming season. He feels confident that Kaedan Korczak is now ready to step up and be a full-time regular after being more of a depth player through his first few NHL seasons. He also singled out veteran Ben Hutton, a frequent scratch last season, as someone who is capable of stepping up into a bigger role. More than $7.6MM over the cap already (before factoring in Pietrangelo’s eventual LTIR placement) per PuckPedia, there just isn’t much wiggle room for the Golden Knights to try to add to their back end even if McCrimmon was inclined to try to make another move.
More from the West:
- After a successful KHL season, winger Vitali Kravtsov surprised some with his decision to sign a two-way deal with the Canucks over the summer. Speaking with Alexey Shevchenko of Sport-Express, he discussed his departure from Traktor while also noting that he won’t be looking to return home should he make it through waivers unclaimed and be sent to the AHL. Kravtsov had 27 goals and 31 assists in 66 KHL contests last season.
- After spending last season on a two-way deal with the Flames before being non-tendered back in June, goaltender Connor Murphy will remain in the organization on a different contract. Their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, recently announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year deal. The 27-year-old struggled in limited action with the Wranglers last season but had a 2.54 GAA and a .922 SV% in 15 outings with them in 2023-24. He’ll battle for a spot with them in training camp but could also land with ECHL Rapid City for the upcoming season.
Calgary Flames Sign Connor Murphy To One-Year Contract
According to a team announcement, the Calgary Flames have signed netminder Connor Murphy to a two-way NHL contract for the remainder of the season.
Murphy had been playing on an AHL contract for the last two years. The Hudson Falls, NY native joined the Flames organization as an undrafted free agent after a four-year collegiate career split between Northeastern University and Union College.
He didn’t receive much playing time as a freshman and sophomore with the Huskins, leading Murphy to transfer to the Garnet Chargers ahead of the 2021-22 NCAA season. He performed well in eastern New York, securing a 14-18-3 record in 37 games during his junior year with a .919 SV% and 2.66 GAA. Unfortunately, Murphy took a step back in his last collegiate season, managing a 12-17-1 record in 31 appearances with a .889 SV% and 3.34 GAA.
Since joining the Flames organization, he’s had opposite seasons. Murphy performed quite well for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in the 2023-24 season while having lackluster results with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush. The same isn’t true this season.
Throughout his two-year professional career, Murphy has accrued a 6-6-3 record in AHL Calgary with a .912 SV% and 2.91 GAA. In the ECHL, the 26-year-old has a 15-16-5 record in 37 contests with a .906 SV% and 3.20 GAA.