Weekly Question: Where Does Matt Murray Fit?

Who would have thought, the Ottawa Senators would have a “too many good goalies” problem? At the end of Craig Anderson’s tenure and the unfortunate long term injuries to Anders Nilsson, fans were left wondering who could fill the starter role for the near future. Sure, we had Marcus Högberg but his experience and stability were still wildly unproven.

However, it seemed in October Pierre Dorion would solve the issue with what looked like a fantastic trade and extension with Matt Murray. So many fans were excited but others were skeptical and rightfully so. The latter turned out to be right for the first few weeks of the season were Murray really struggled in net and when he had a bad game, it was just a disaster. Still, many advocated for him especially with the quality of the defense playing in front of him. He then seemed to have gotten it together and with that came more wins and a better overall team performance. That didn’t last long as he got injured and then came back to his not so great performances and then more injuries.

As Murray recovered, fans were able to take a better look at some of the prospects in the system like fan favourite Joey Daccord and Filip Gustavsson. Both of which performed quite well in the circumstances they were put in, especially when Högberg fell to injury and Daccord looked to become the number 1. The weird goalie continued with Daccord getting injured and then Dorion acquiring Anton Forsberg around the same time. Have you lost track yet?

Now Murray is back and has played well in the small number of games he’s been in but Daccord was looking very well and Högberg has earned a good look. Then there’s Gustavsson and newly signed Mads Søgaard. With no ECHL team, how will they all be managed? I don’t foresee Forsberg to be in the long-term plan of the team but the remaining names all seem like deserving of NHL chances.

The question is, was Dorion too quick to acquire Matt Murray and commit the team to a 4-year contract? Will Murray actually earn his contract and return to champion form? I like Murray and him finding his game this or even next season will be a huge advantage for the development of this team. That being said, if he continues to be outplayed by the younger guys, does it make sense to keep him?

With Högberg, Daccord and Gustavsson due to break out into starter roles, where do you see Matt Murray in the next few years with the Sens?

How will the Sens goalie situation look like next season?