Senators must restore Matt Murray's confidence as losses pile up

Matt Murray is as thoughtful and polite as any athlete who regularly succumbs to the pandemic-induced Zoom calls that pass for interviews these days.

Although new to the Ottawa Senators, Murray habitually addresses his interrogators by name.

“That’s a good question, Kyle…

“Well, Gord…”

In recent days, not surprisingly, Murray’s voice has grown softer. He is hurting, as much as he must talk a good game, to keep spirits up around him, especially Ottawa’s younger players.

“I’ve been through stretches like this and I think most players have,” Murray says.

We’d all like to accept that this is just a routine slump, and there is nothing to see here, but the reality is, whether Murray gets out of his current funk this week or next or beyond — he has not been in a situation quite like this in his six-year NHL career.

For starters, he’s never been on a lengthy road trip before with a one-month baby girl at home, relying on a FaceTime relationship with her until he returns to Ottawa this weekend (“thank God for modern technology in that regard,” he says of his daily contact with his wife and daughter).

It’s all new territory.

He’s never played for a losing team at the AHL or NHL level.

Never had to live up to a $25-million contract.

With the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Penguins of Crosby and Malkin and Letang, Murray was that delightful combination of up-and-coming goalie on a cheap entry-level deal. He earned just over $900,000 while winning Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. That netted him a sleek three-year deal at $3.75M per season — significant coin but not enough to garner extra attention.

Last season, Murray lost his hold on the starting job, sharing it with Tristan Jarry, currently having a confidence crisis of his own in Pittsburgh. So, when Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was in need of a starter because of lingering concussion symptoms suffered by Anders Nilsson, he jumped at the chance to get Murray.

Murray, 26, came to Ottawa for a second-round pick (used by the Penguins to draft Finnish goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist) plus forward prospect Jonathan Gruden.

Considering Murray was coming off a difficult season — 20 wins in 38 starts and a save percentage under .900 (.899), Dorion could have been excused for trying out Murray on a short-term deal. But after consulting with Ottawa goalie coach Pierre Groulx and the team’s pro scouts, Dorion was convinced that Murray was going to have a bounce-back season and the GM went all-in on a four-year contract with an average annual value of $6.25 million.

There are lots of reasons to question that deal — especially now with the benefit of the past few weeks of hindsight. Before that, though, there were questions raised about Murray’s athletic ability or lack thereof and his need to be technically perfect or else get in trouble.

When The Athletic put out a pre-season list of the top 31 NHL goaltenders, based on a ranking system of an anonymous panel of NHL GMs and coaches, Murray was slotted in the bottom 10, at No. 22. He has his detractors, but he also has a strong playoff resume, and, of course, those two Cups. Senators fans won’t forget Murray coming off the bench to win back his job from Marc-Andre Fleury in a 2017 Eastern Conference Final that went seven games. Murray battled.

You already know how Murray’s first games in a Senators uniform have played out. Murray has the worst numbers of any NHL starter (1-4-1, .849 save percentage, 4.82 GAA). On Sunday in Edmonton, Murray gave up the first goal eight seconds in and was yanked after the third Oilers goal at 7:20 of the first period.

On Tuesday, Murray sat on the bench while backup Marcus Hogberg got the start and stopped 21 of 25 shots (.840 save percentage) in a 4-2 loss, Ottawa’s ninth straight. (But hey, rookie forward Tim Stützle scored his third of the season!)

It’s not unusual for a starting goaltender to hit a rough patch and sit out for a bit, but these are not normal circumstances. The Senators are a team in crisis, a rebuilding club that was supposed to take a step forward this season, with Murray providing the stability required after longtime starter Craig Anderson, 39, was not renewed.

Pressure is building everywhere — on the GM who made Murray his biggest long-term deal of the off-season. On Murray, trying to live up to his contract while plugging holes all over a leaky ship, behind a patchwork quilt of a defence corps. On the team itself, which is “fragile,” to use the term of veteran centre Derek Stepan, one of the several veteran additions that has not exactly borne fruit.

Last week, Murray told us he thought his game was coming around, despite numbers that suggested otherwise. More recently, he has spoken about everyone working harder, himself included.

“Technically or tactically, there’s nothing really glaring that’s wrong,” Murray says. “It just comes down to the will to do it. And going that extra little way to getting the job done. Especially on the penalty kill. I think that’s huge.”

He pointed to the bad bounces which have led to early deficits and a sagging bench.

That goal at the eight-second mark was deflected by Ottawa centre Josh Norris. Murray had no chance, although analysts were critical of Murray for freezing the puck, which led to the faceoff from which the goal was scored. Watching the replay, freezing it didn’t seem like a horrible option — there were two Oilers in the vicinity — but when pucks keep going in, the microscopes come out.

So, now what?

Ten games in, the Senators have exactly one victory, the opening night 5-3 defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Murray in great form. His play since has eroded, as has Ottawa’s lineup with star defenceman Thomas Chabot missing two games with injury before returning Tuesday.

It’s fine to suggest, as we all have, that Hogberg deserves a chance, as well as prospect Joey Daccord behind him.

In the larger picture, the Senators have to do everything they can to bring Murray back from goaltender purgatory. The organization is committed to this goalie for the next three seasons after this one, and at a dollar figure no other team is likely to take on anytime soon.

Winning games is not the priority from now until May 8, but developing the young core talent and getting Murray on track is paramount. On Tuesday, someone wondered online what was going through Murray’s mind, to be benched so early in the season. That prompted a slew of comments, many piling on about his contract, before others stepped up to defend a human being who is struggling. Didn’t we just go through a campaign to advocate for mental health care?

Murray himself knew there would be growing pains.

“It’s such a young group,” he says. “But you see the talent in this room, even in a stretch like this, there is a lot to be positive about.”

At 26, Murray is not exactly ancient, even in hockey years. He’s the same age as Hogberg, and just two years older than Daccord.

Not only is it too early to give up on Murray, there isn’t much choice but to do everything humanly possible to get his game to a place where he is comfortable and confident again.

Next year and the year after, in the more familiar confines of the Atlantic Division, Ottawa can think about Murray being a pillar on a team that wins its share of games.

For now, this is about putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.

To put a smile on his face in a future Zoom call.

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