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Ryan Murray

Edmonton Oilers Sign Ryan Murray

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The Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman Ryan Murray to a one-year, $750K contract, adding some depth to their group.

Murray, 28, is coming off a year spent with the Colorado Avalanche, one which resulted in a Stanley Cup championship–though he had little to do with it. The veteran defenseman didn’t play a single game in the playoffs for Colorado and suited up just 37 times during the regular season, recording four assists.

Interestingly enough, Edmonton fans will certainly be plenty familiar with the player, given his connection to one of the most infamous draft misses in team history. In 2012, the Oilers decided to pass on Murray, one of a huge number of defensemen that were ranked highly, and select Nail Yakupov first overall. The Columbus Blue Jackets would nab Murray next–a move that still might be considered a mistake, after so many others from the first round went on to star in the NHL.

It’s never been quite that level for Murray, who simply couldn’t stay healthy through the early part of his career and lost important development time because of it. Even in his post-draft year of 2012-13, he played only 23 games for the Everett Silvertips, a trend that would continue as he transitioned into the NHL.

Now a decade after being drafted, Murray has played in only 432 regular season games at the highest level, despite seeing just a single AHL contest in his entire career. At times it has seemed like he is on the injured list more than he’s on the ice, something that he’ll try to change as he heads back to Canada for the first time in his career.

The Regina, Saskatchewan native is an interesting addition for the Oilers, who already project to have a pretty full blue line for the upcoming season. There’s absolutely no risk with a league minimum deal like this one, though it will put a little more pressure on a young player like Philip Broberg to perform, given he is still waiver exempt.

Ryan Murray Out Indefinitely

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The Colorado Avalanche added Josh Manson ahead of the deadline, but weren’t able to secure any more defensive additions yesterday. Unfortunately, just a few hours later, one of their regulars went down and is now out indefinitely. Ryan Murray, who blocked a shot just 31 seconds into his first shift, is out “weeks not days” according to head coach Jared Bednar, who confirmed it was a fracture but did not specify if it was a hand or an arm injury, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic.

The Avalanche were playing with seven defensemen last night, though one of those was Kurtis MacDermid, who is a hybrid for them usually lining up at forward when the entire group is healthy. In Murray’s absence, and with Manson still just getting started with the team, Cale Makar went over 30 minutes and Devon Toews racked up 27:38–the only two defensemen to even crack the 20-minute mark.

While the Avalanche do have quite a bit of defensive depth, Samuel Girard is also out with an injury and Bowen Byram is still a question mark because of his ongoing concussion issues. The young Byram is back on the ice with the team–in a regular jersey even–but it’s not clear when he will actually re-enter the Avalanche lineup.

Of note, Justin Barron, who has played two games for the team this season, was traded to the Montreal Canadiens as part of the Artturi Lehkonen deal.

Murray, 28, has dealt with injuries his entire career, only once completing a full season unscathed. Through 37 appearances this year, he had just four points, but was still a useful depth piece for a team looking to go on a long playoff run. Now sidelined for the next while, it will be interesting to see if Murray ends up losing his spot in the lineup, should Colorado get comfortable with a new deployment of defensemen.

Injury Updates: Kakko, Lightning, Okposo, Murray

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The upper-body injury that landed Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko on injured reserve is one that has been lingering for a little while and could keep him out for a while, reports Mollie Walker of the New York Post.  It has been a disappointing third season for the 2019 second-overall selection who has managed just 14 points in 37 games although the fact he was playing through this could at least play a small role in his sluggish start.  Head coach Gerard Gallant indicated that the 20-year-old is currently listed as out week-to-week.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • The Lightning will be without defensemen Zach Bogosian and Erik Cernak for the next three games, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). Bogosian is dealing with a lower-body injury while Cernak’s hasn’t been disclosed yet.  Both blueliners will be re-evaluated after that stretch which suggests they’ll be out at least a little longer beyond that point.
  • Sabres winger Kyle Okposo has resumed skating but is not with the team on their road trip which begins tonight in Ottawa, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The veteran is working his way back from an upper-body injury and has actually been one of Buffalo’s better offensive players this season as he ranks fourth in team scoring with 23 points in 37 games.
  • Avalanche defenseman Ryan Murray skated in a non-contact jersey on Monday and is getting close to returning to the lineup, mentions Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The veteran has missed five straight games with an upper-body injury and his return would be a welcome one with there being no timetable for Bowen Byram’s return.

Injury Updates: Martinez, Murray, Wild, Oshie

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It appears that the Golden Knights will soon be getting a key defenseman back in their lineup.  In an interview with SinBin.Vegas (audio link), owner Bill Foley indicated that Alec Martinez was nearing a return had it not been for the veteran contracting COVID-19.  Martinez has been out since mid-November with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss at least ten days due to his protocol placement, meaning it’s not an asymptomatic case so he won’t return until the middle of next week at the earliest.  Martinez and his $5.25MM AAV are currently on LTIR and Vegas will likely need to transfer winger Max Pacioretty onto LTIR in order to activate the blueliner back onto the active roster.

Other injury news from around the league:

  • Avalanche defenseman Ryan Murray left Friday’s victory over Arizona with an upper-body injury, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The oft-injured 28-year-old has struggled with Colorado this season, averaging just over 14 minutes per game in 21 contests.  The expectation is that Kurtis MacDermid, who had been playing on the wing recently, will now go back to his natural position on the back end to take Murray’s place.
  • The Wild could get defenseman Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Cam Talbot back in the lineup for their upcoming home-and-home set against Chicago, suggests Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Those games are slated for Friday and Saturday of next week.  Spurgeon has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury while Talbot has missed nearly two weeks with a lower-body issue of his own.
  • The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger T.J. Oshie sustained an upper-body injury in today’s game against the Islanders. It has been a tough season for the veteran from a health perspective as he has already missed time due to three separate injuries while missing a game in COVID protocol.  In between all of those, the 35-year-old has been fairly productive with 13 points in 17 games.

Ryan Murray Activated From Long-Term Injured Reserve

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According to CapFriendly, the Colorado Avalanche activated defenseman Ryan Murray from long-term injured reserve today, moving him to the active roster.

Murray has been out of the Avalanche lineup since November 27, when he was sidelined with a lower-body injury. In 17 games this season prior to the injury, he had four assists, averaging 14:52 per game.

It’s Murray’s first season in Colorado, signing a one-year, $2MM contract in the offseason to join the team after a solid season in 2020-21 with New Jersey.

It seems like Murray’s never played a fully healthy season, but he’s getting a shot to return to the lineup now. With the recent return of Bowen Byram to the lineup, Colorado finally has full health on defense after a rash of injuries this year.

Ryan Murray Signs With Colorado Avalanche

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One of the top remaining unrestricted free agents is now off the market. Defenseman Ryan Murray, ranked No. 22 in PHR’s Top 50 UFA’s and the fourth-highest ranked unsigned free agent has found a new home, at least for the time being. The Colorado Avalanche announced that they have signed Murray to a one-year, $2MM contract.

Murray, 27, could be quite the bargain for the Avs, coming off of a contract that paid him $4.6MM annually. The 2012 second overall pick may not be the two-way dynamo that many expected when he was drafted, but he has developed into a strong defensive player who can contribute modest offense as well. Murray is a solid positional defender who blocks shots and wins puck battles with regularity and can move the puck up the ice, making him an easy player to hand significant ice time. In 395 career games, Murray has recorded 124 points and 663 blocked shots in over 20 minutes per game.

The issue with Murray is health. The injury-prone blue liner has missed nearly 220 games in his career due to various ailments. However, at just $2MM Murray is well worth the gamble for the Avs. The team may have been looking for a veteran defenseman following the departure of Ryan Graves, but in reality Murray is a luxury for the team. With a top four of Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, Devon Toews, and Erik Johnson, budding youngster Bowen Byram, depth option Jacob MacDonald, and new addition Kurtis MacDermid, the Avalanche are more than capable of surviving a Murray injury absence.

Trade Rumors: Pearson, Flames, Capitals, Bruins

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As the Vancouver Canucks’ season descends further and further into an inescapable disappointment, TSN’s Darren Dreger states on “Insider Trading” this evening that no impending free agent in Vancouver is off limits to suitors. However, that doesn’t mean that all current impending free agents will remain as such through the trade deadline in just over five weeks. Dreger notes that the Canucks would prefer to re-sign forward Tanner Pearson, who is coming off a career year in 2019-20. Negotiations on a new contract have not yet begun, but GM Jim Benning would like to start talks as soon as possible in order to have a clear picture ahead of the deadline. If there is no meeting of the minds on a potential extension and seemingly little chance of progress ahead of the deadline, the Canucks will have to trade Pearson. The two-way winger is their most valuable rental trade chip, as depth options Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi, and Jordie Benn have lofty cap hits relative to their value and veteran defensemen Alex Edler and Travis Hamonic have No-Movement Clauses that they may not be eager to waive. If the Canucks can’t re-sign Pearson before the deadline, or at least get a handshake agreement in place, trading him to a contender is their best chance of leaving the deadline with a nice haul of picks or prospects without having to move a term player.

  • The rival Calgary Flames are currently buyers and their biggest need is a winger, but Pearson doesn’t meet their most important criteria. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Calgary GM Brad Treliving is on the hunt for a right winger and, more specifically, a natural right-handed shooting right winger. The Flames’ best right-shot forward is Elias Lindholm and, while he has played on the wing many times before, the team prefers his fit at center. Unfortunately, that leaves the club with a lack of top-six caliber righties to put on the wing. Josh Leivo, Brett Ritchie, and the recently-waived Dominik Simon (a lefty) have not been the answer. The team also prefers to keep top-nine lefties like Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube on the left side if possible and certainly do not want both on their off side. As a result, Calgary is seeking a trade partner. Seravalli does not address whether the Flames are only seeking rentals or if, seeing as the righty problem isn’t going away, they are looking at all options. The team already faces some difficult Expansion Draft decisions in regards to its deep forward corps, so a term acquisition could prove problematic. Among rentals, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev or Detroit’s Bobby Ryan stand out as the few top available options at a shallow position on the market.
  • Seravalli notes that another team with a very specific need could be the Washington Capitals. While Washington has received a stellar performance in net from rookie Vitek Vanecek, pressed into the starting role temporarily while Ilya Samsonov was sidelined, both Samsonov and Vanecek lack a crucial component to playoff success: experience. Seravalli wonders if the Capitals trust the young tandem enough to ride them into the playoffs, with veteran Craig Anderson as the third-string, or if the team needs to make a trade. Bob McKenzie echoed this same concern on NBC Sports on Wednesday. Experienced rental options include Devan Dubnyk, Antti Raanta, Jonathan Bernier, and possibly Pekka Rinne. But the question becomes whether or not any of these older goalies are an upgrade to Vanecek based only on experience, as only Rinne has outplayed him this season.
  • While it should come as no surprise to anyone who has reviewed their salary cap status, Bob McKenzie appeared on NBC Sports’ broadcast on Wednesday night and essentially stated that the Boston Bruins have the cap flexibility to do whatever they want at the trade deadline. He added that the team is in this situation “by design” and that GM Don Sweeney is open to any and all possibilities. The Bruins have dealt with injuries on defense and at forward and have experience concerns on the back end and scoring issues up front, so fans were happy to hear McKenzie say they could add a prominent defenseman or forward, “or both”. Currently pressed by injuries, the Bruins have just under $3.5MM in cap space which still prorates to nearly $8.7MM at the deadline, per CapFriendly. However, the Bruins banked cap space earlier this season when they had fewer injuries and could still get healthier before the trade deadline. With no one on the injured reserve eating up cap space at the deadline, CapFriendly estimates that Boston could have upwards of $12.7MM in prorated cap space. For context, that could be enough to add top-priced rental Taylor Hall and a defenseman like Ryan Murray while staying under the cap. The Bruins will be a team to watch over the next five weeks.

New Jersey Devils Acquire Ryan Murray

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The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to shed salary from their defense corps. After trading Markus Nutivaara earlier today, the team has now traded away former top prospect Ryan Murray. The Blue Jackets have announced that Murray has been dealt to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Murray, 27, is a productive two-way defenseman… when healthy. The 2012 No. 2 overall pick has not been able to live up to expectations due to his inability to stay on the ice. Murray played in just 27 games for Columbus this season and has played in just 187 of a possible 316 games over the past four years combined.

Murray’s career per-game scoring rate projects 30+ point upside over a full season, even if he’s never hit that mark. However, his $4.6MM AAV implies an expectation that he will reach that point total every year. New Jersey has now taken on the financial risk for the final year of Murray’s final deal in hopes that he finally lives up to the deal. If he does, the Devils will have landed the talented blue liner at a rock bottom price.

The Blue Jackets did not trade Murray because he has fallen short of expectations though. By moving Murray and Nutivaara, as well as buying out Alexander Wennberg and knowing that they have a Brandon Dubinsky LTIR placement in their back pocket, Columbus now has roughly $20MM in salary cap space. They suddenly look like one of the top players on the free agent market and with a defense group that is still solid despite shipping out two starters and a great duo in net, the Blue Jackets can devote those funds to making major additions up front. A team whose 2019-20 season was defined by the elite talent they lost to free agency could begin next year with the opposite label, with names like Taylor Hall, Mike Hoffman, or Tyler Toffoli possibly joining the roster.

Metropolitan Notes: Werenski, Murray, Carlson, Kuznetsov, Hamilton

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The Columbus Blue Jackets suffered a tough loss Friday when they blew a three-goal lead to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final four minutes of the game only to see themselves fall in overtime, giving Toronto a chance to force a Game 5. Many point to the defensive injuries to Zach Werenski, who missed the final nine minutes of the game, as well as the missing Ryan Murray. However, Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella announced today that both Werenski and Murray are expected to play in today’s matchup, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton.

The 23-year-old Werenski was expected to be a major loss to the team, trying to stave off the offensive power of Toronto. He suffered an upper-body injury during the third period and underwent and MRI Saturday. That test must have come back positive as the blueliner is expected to return to the ice. He has averaged 26:42 of ice time for Columbus and should provide a major obstacle for Toronto. Murray was scratched for Game 4, but is also expected to return to the ice. Goaltender Jonas Korpisalo is expected to start in net.

  • The Washington Capitals were without John Carlson when the team took the ice Sunday against the Boston Bruins. The team’s top defenseman has yet to make an appearance in any of the team’s round-robin games with an undisclosed injury, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  There is no word on whether he will be available for Game 1 of the team’s first-round matchup. Carlson was a dominating force, posting 75 points in 69 games during the regular season and is a key piece to the team’s long-term success in the playoffs. Head coach Todd Reirden also noted that forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has returned to his usual place in the lineup after being benched in the third period, according to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. The center only played in three shifts in the third period due to his inconsistent play.
  • NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reported that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that it’s too early to tell whether defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be ready to go for Game 1 of the playoffs this week due to an undisclosed injury. However, Brind’Amour did say that if Hamilton is ready to go, he will play. Unfortunately, the coach did say that defenseman Brett Pesce, out with a shoulder injury, is not expected to play in this next series.

Snapshots: Return Plans, Murray, Nilsson

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In recent days, the NHL had briefly shifted their focus from restarting in centralized hubs towards playing in club cities, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post.  That would have assuaged some concerns from players over the potential from being away for their families for an extended period of time.  However, Brooks notes that the league has quickly pivoted away from that to focus exclusively on the four-city plan.  It remains to be seen if the regular season will be concluded or if they will jump to the playoffs if they are indeed able to get things back underway.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • To say that Blue Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray has been injury-plagued throughout his career would be an understatement. He has only played more than 66 games just once and multiple ailments have limited him to just 27 games this season.  The blueliner admitted to John Matisz of The Score that he wondered if he’d be forced to hang up his skates early as a result of everything but after consulting with doctors, there has been no reason to seriously consider that.  The 26-year-old has one more year left on his deal with a $4.6MM price tag and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the 2021 offseason.
  • Senators goaltender Anders Nilsson should be able to return if regular season play resumes, goalie coach Pierre Groulx told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He was sidelined by a concussion back in December and only passed his baseline testing last month.  However, with Ottawa well out of contention and a likely desire to give Marcus Hogberg as much playing time to evaluate him for a full-time spot for 2020-21, they will likely limit Nilsson’s action to only a handful of games at most.

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