When the Ottawa Senators signed goalie Matt Murray to a four-year $25 million deal in October 2020, they thought their issues in net were solved. Wrong. As of this writing, the Sens are struggling, to say the least. They have accumulated just nine points with a dismal 4-14-1 record. To place that into the realm of the real world, they now placed below the lowly Arizona Coyotes who started the season with a 0-10-1 record. In their last 12 games, the Ottawa club has only won once and has dropped 10 games with one overtime loss. It can’t always be the goalie’s fault. Arizona Coyotes rumours, including this one, are a possibility with Murray perhaps moving on from Ottawa.
Arizona Coyotes Rumours: Matt Murray Could Become a Good Addition
So, Murray was placed on waivers on Saturday by the Senators. He cleared and will be assigned to the team’s Belleville AHL affiliate to hopefully get back his mojo. He has struggled this season with a 0-5 record and a dismal .890 save percentage to go along with a 3.26 goals-against-average. It can be surmised that the Senators have not played well in front of him. The team is dead last in allowing 3.84 goals a game. According to the Sportnet.ca staff, who interviewed Sens’ head coach D.J. Smith, “We want him to get going, he’ll be on waivers today and if someone picks him up, he will get an opportunity there,” Smith told Sens TV after Murray was a healthy scratch Friday against the Anaheim Ducks. “If he doesn’t, he’ll likely go down to Belleville and get an opportunity to play and get his game back.”
If Murray Did Become Available, the Coyotes Should Be In the Running
According to Sportnet.ca’s Jeff Marek on Saturday’s 32 Thoughts, either the Buffalo Sabres or Arizona Coyotes could be gunning to grab Murray. For the Sabres, they are without Craig Anderson who is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The Coyotes on the other hand have newly acquired Scott Wedgewood and Karel Vejmelka playing well of late. That shouldn’t stop them from acquiring a good asset like Murray who they could move before the trade deadline for… you guessed it MORE draft picks.
The other scenario could be that Murray finds his game again and really helps the rebuilding Coyotes going forward. After all, he’s only 27 years old. He was on the Pittsburgh Penguins back-to-back championship teams, and that says a lot. While his contract is a bit high, the Coyotes will need to exceed the cap basement after this season with so many contracts expiring. They could easily fit Murray into their salary cap budget. So, who would the Senators want in return? That can be determined, and general manager Bill Armstrong is very skilled in making transactions thus far for the Desert Dogs.
Another Player the Yotes Should Consider
It has become known recently that the forward Jake DeBrusk wants to be traded. He owns a $3.675 million contract through this season. According to Ryan Rishaug, his agent is checking on where his client can be heading in a possible trade.
Spoke with Rick Valette today, agent for Jake DeBrusk, he confirmed he asked for a trade over the weekend. It's felt a change of scenery moving forward would be beneficial. Debrusk will remain with the team while the Bruins try and facilitate the request.
— Ryan Rishaug (@TSNRyanRishaug) November 29, 2021
DeBrusk has struggled offensively with only one goal in his last 13 games. It must be noted that during the 2018-19 season DeBrusk tallied 27 goals and 15 assists in 68 games. He then went on to score 11 points in 24 playoffs games. He’s just 25-years-old and stands 6′-0″, 188 pounds. While he may be having difficulty scoring, his possession stats are outstanding. His career Corsi For stands at 57.4, with a Relative Corsi of 6.7. The Coyotes really need a player who knows how to handle the puck.
Once the Yotes accomplish Phil Kessel‘s wishes to be moved, the salary they save there could easily go towards Murray and/or DeBrusk. In keeping with the team’s philosophy of staying young, both of these players have qualities that could help the Coyotes in their rebuilding process.
Arizona Coyotes Rumours: Final Analysis
Helping the Coyotes both offensively and defensively has got to be on Bill Armstrong’s long list of things to do. Certainly, he will have tons of draft picks, but they will take some time to develop. In the meantime, they will need some NHL-level players to function. Murray and DeBrusk could fit right in there. Arizona Coyotes rumours are getting interesting.
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