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Morning, folks!
This just in:
The Oilers and Penguins have talked about Matt Murray, I'm told, but as far as I can tell, asking price too rich for Edmonton at this point (first-round pick?). I think Edmonton will be patient in its goalie search. And the Oil hasn't ruled out bringing back Mike Smith, either
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 10, 2020
A couple things. It’s good, maybe even very good, that the Oilers won’t be lining up to pay through the nose for Pittsburgh Penguins goalie — and two-time Stanley Cup winner — Matt Murray.
Look, the cups are great. He’s fairly young, too. But he’s going to cost a lot of money relative to his performance, and this season alone, he ranked 59th among 66 goalies who saw more than 10 GP this season by Hockey-Reference’s GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average) metric, with -11.60 in only 38 GP. He was objectively terrible this season. The Oilers should be aiming well higher, especially if they’re considering parting with real assets to acquire him. For comparison’s sake, Mike Smith ranked 51st by that same metric. Mikko Koskinen was 16th.
Speaking of Mike Smith, that’s the concerning part of LeBrun’s post. There is no good reason to bring him back. None whatsoever. To bring Mike Smith back is to admit that the job is beyond Mr. Holland. It cannot happen. It is absolutely an offense worthy of termination, IMO.
Let’s hope they don’t do that.
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