Matt Murray to Colorado? Avalanche insider says he's atop their 'potential wish list'

Colorado Avalanche insider Adrian Dater seems to have a pretty good feel for Penguins fans and Pittsburgh. His parents lived in Wexford for some time. During Thursday’s podcast, Dater told me, “I learned early on, don’t troll any Pittsburgh Penguins fans about their team. Because if you do, you’ll get 18 million emails.”

Just a few years ago, suggesting that the Pens may be considering a trade of two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Matt Murray probably would’ve gotten any writer at least 20 million.

That’s a conservative guess.

Now, though, it feels as if a trade to move the restricted free agent netminder out of Pittsburgh is a foregone conclusion. The only question is, which team is going to take him.

Dater, who works for 104.3 The Fan in Denver and writes for Colorado Hockey Now, recently tweeted that the Avalanche may have an interest.

The one goalie I keep hearing as the next Avs No. 1, regardless of the situations of any of the current guys: Matt Murray

— Adrian Dater (@adater) September 3, 2020

That was before the Avalanche lost Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series to the Dallas Stars 5-4 in overtime.

Michael Hutchinson was the guy in net that night for Colorado. Due to injury and ineffectiveness, he was the third netminder to play in the Western Conference bubble for the Avs, after Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz. Colorado allowed at least five goals in all four of their series defeats to the Stars.

“It wasn’t just the goaltending, but it was a huge factor,” Dater said, noting that injuries to Grubauer and Francouz were part of seven key losses of players in the second round.

But the lower-body injury that knocked out Grubauer has nagged him repeatedly during the season, so durability is a question.

Despite some decent regular-season numbers, Francouz lost four of six decisions in the bubble with a 3.23 goals against average and a save percentage of .892.

So maybe Denver does make sense as a potential landing spot for Murray.

“I think it’s going to be another week or so before the Avs consider anything, but I do think that Matt Murray is going to be at the top of their potential wish list,” Dater said.

Dater believes that Murray fits the profile of a player the Avalanche like to acquire.

“The biggest thing they’d love about Murray is his age,” Dater said. “He’s only 26. The Avs love to think young. They love to get young guys and think, ‘Alright, now we’re set for a few years with this new guy who is young.’ Murray fits that template.

“GMs want to win that press conference and say ‘We got a guy who is 26 with two Cups’ and say ‘We got him at a good price.’”

Dater cautions that price may not be too impressive for Penguins fans expecting a haul for Murray. With the glut of goalie choices expected on the open market, Dater says don’t look for much more than a second-round pick going back to Pittsburgh. He also thinks general manager Joe Sakic may try to push Grubauer back to any team as part of a potential trade for a replacement deal. Grubauer has one year left on his contract at $3.33 million.

We talk about all those angles in Thursday’s podcast. We also dive into some aspects of Murray’s game that may give the Avalanche some cause for concern. We talk about if Marc-Andre Fleury could be an option for Colorado instead. And how Dater’s experience covering Patrick Roy in the past may ready him for a similar demeanor at times from Murray.

Listen: Tim Benz and Adrian Dater discuss the potential interest the Colorado Avalanche may have in Penguins goalie Matt Murray.