New Contract, Same Problem

The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally shown a commitment to their young goaltender, Matt Murray. They have agreed on a three year contract extension with a $3.75 million cap hit annually. Murray is coming off the most successful playoff performance by a rookie goaltender since Cam Ward in 2006. He helped propel the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship with a 15-6 record in the playoffs. Now, what does this new contract mean for the Penguins goaltending situation?

I have seen a lot of speculation that this means Marc-Andre Fleury's time in Pittsburgh is coming to an end. Not so fast. Goaltenders getting paid similar to Murray include: Cam Talbot, Steve Mason, Petr Mrazek and Jonathan Bernier. The one thing all these guys have in common? Their teams have no confidence in them. So it seems a little premature to assume a new contract for Murray means Fleury can exit stage right.

We all knew Murray was going to get a new contract this year, we just did not know how big it would be. Had it been $5 million per year or more, that would show some serious confidence or commitment to Murray. However, the deal they made is the perfect balance of being short and inexpensive enough to be a slightly risky experiment, but long and lucrative enough to make Murray feel appreciated. This deal by no means shows the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to let go of Fleury and make Matt Murray their full-time starting goalie.

The Penguins organization is smart enough to know you do not go all in on a goalie that has started only 33 games at the NHL level. When Murray recovers from his broken hand and returns to the lineup, he will share the job with Fleury. It will be as close to a 50/50 split as Coach Sullivan can make it, barring one of them hits a hot or cold stretch. They need to share the job to keep Fleury's trade value high and get Murray ready for another playoff run. Also, they need to be as sure as possible that Murray is capable of being their long term solution in net, before the next offseason hits. If they do not trade one of these guys this season, they will lose one of them in the upcoming expansion draft. If Matt Murray has a "sophomore slump" or proves that last season was a fluke, do not be surprised if he is the one Pittsburgh leaves unprotected at the expansion draft.

For more in-depth analysis on the Penguins goaltending conundrum, take a look back at Flower Power, a post from this summer where we explore all the possible solutions for Pittsburgh.