There will be a lot of revisionist history being talked about if the Pens bow out this round and Vegas keeps going, but anyone who really pays attention knows that’s Murray does not have a strong defensive effort in front of him. The D pinch often and the forwards don’t back check well enough. It’s happened all season. Murray isn’t at his best, but he is still far from the problem in my opinion.
The decision to let MAF go in the expansion draft was the right one and everyone in the hockey world knew it had to play out like that. The Pens had zero cap room after last year and the expansion rules made it impossible to keep both.
I don’t really see the value in comparing the two. Keeping Murray was the only option, not to mention could you imagine the Pens letting a 22-year old, back-to-back Cup winning goalie just walk?
You won't need revisionist history, plain old history will do.
If it weren't for the expansion draft, the Pens may still have had both Fleury and Murray on the roster. The franchise has a window for winning it all with the amazing tandem of Crosby and Malkin. That window will soon close, if it isn't closing already. The franchise would have done everything to squeeze as much out of that window as possible, and that would have included keeping both goalies, or trading one for a much better package to help the team NOW.
The expansion draft forced their hand and stole a valuable trading chip from them. Murray was kind of shaky all year. The GM conceded that point by the major move he made at the deadline. He traded an important defensive piece for what he hoped would be a piece to enhance scoring, a third line center. Odd to weaken the thing that may have helped Murray the most, but obviously feeling the Pens would need to outscore other teams significantly to win. Like 5+ goals /game.
It seemed to have backfired on two levels, the defense is noticeably weaker, and the offense hasn't expanded.
Also, as someone mentioned above, the franchise failed to secure a steady backup to Murray. They were OK with the two rookie goalies, who showed flashes in the regular season, but are untested in the playoffs. Therefore, when Murray gets funky, there is no other option.
It was completely puzzling that Rutherford didn't add to the defensive corps at the deadline. Everyone expected a move similar to the past two runs where he added a solid defenseman or two to bolster the blue line. This year, they got nothing and gave up Cole as a throw in that the receiving club promptly flipped to Columbus.
Brassard has been been pretty disappointing, and the Kessel homerun from two years ago is either hurt or his shorts are too tight!
The Pens roster is plenty good enough to win these next two games against the Caps. You don't write off a team with Crosby and Malkin who have risen to the occasion time after time. Sullivan is also a cool head under pressure. Contrast that with the playoff pedigree of Ovechkin and Trotts and how this is set up. Win in Pittsburgh and take your chances in game 7.
The next series will be the Pens Waterloo if they prevail. If they pull this off, and go on and defeat the Lightning it will be bigger than the Miracle on Ice!
Can you imagine the ratings for a Penguin/Golden Knights series? Talk about storylines!
