With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason for a third consecutive year without a playoff appearance, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 57 individuals signed to an NHL contract – including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.

Starting with Noel Acciari and going on through to Philip Tomasino (regrettably, there is no Z on the payroll), every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.

This series is scheduled to be published Mondays through Saturdays leading up until June 24, four days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)

Sergei Murashov

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Right

Age: 21

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 172 pounds

2024-25 AHL regular statistics: 16 games, 12-3-0 record, 2.64 goals against average, .913 save percentage, one shutout

2024-25 AHL postseason statistics: One game, 0-1 record, 3.07 goals against average, .903 save percentage, zero shutouts

2024-25 ECHL regular statistics: 26 games, 17-7-1 record, 2.40 goals against average, .922 save percentage, one shutout

2024-25 ECHL postseason statistics: Three games, 0-3 record, 3.82 goals against average, .857 save percentage, zero shutouts

Contract: In the first year of a three-year, entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $861,110. Pending restricted free agent in 2027.

(Murashov does not require waivers to be assigned to a minor league affiliate.)

Acquired: Fourth-round draft pick (No. 118 overall), July 8, 2022

This season: There wasn’t a surplus of reasons to be excited about the Penguins’ 2024 offseason. But Sergei Murashov signing his entry-level contract July 30 was one of those reasons.

A mid-round draft pick who put up some strong numbers in Russia’s top junior league, the Molodezhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL), over the previous two seasons, Murashov offered plenty of intrigue even before he made the jump to North America.

And once he set foot on this continent, he showed off quite a bit in two different leagues.

Opening 2024-25 with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League, Murashov won his first game of the season, stopping 27 of 28 shots in a 4-1 road win against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Oct. 13.

In the interest of getting Murashov more playing time, management assigned him to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL on Oct. 26, and he remained there until being recalled Nov. 28. During that span, he appeared in nine games, posting a 7-2-0 record, a 2.43 goals against average and .919 save percentage.

Sent back to Wheeling on Dec. 4, Murashov spent most of the next three months in the ECHL, playing a key role in the Nailers eventually securing a playoff berth.

Murashov... you are the MAN ????@WheelingNailers pic.twitter.com/uTP6PIUsuE

— ECHL (@ECHL) February 23, 2025

Summoned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton again March 4, Murashov might have performed better in the AHL than the ECHL. Undefeated in his first 12 AHL games (11-0-0), Murashov finished the regular season in a platoon with fellow prospect Joel Blomqvist, helping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton qualify for the playoffs.

Sergei Murashov has been under siege in the middle frame, but came up with a timely glove stop here to keep the game tied at 2-2. @InsideAHLHockey pic.twitter.com/LT9cQisy1y

— Tony Androckitis* (@TonyAndrock) March 13, 2025

Once the postseason began, management opted to give Blomqvist the starting role with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Murashov with Wheeling.

Those plans went askew however, as Murashov lost the first three games in a best-of-seven North Division semifinal series against the Norfolk Admirals before being recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton when Blomqvist was injured in the first game of a first-round series against the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

After Murashov and the Penguins fell in Game 2 (of a best-of-three series), 3-2, on April 25, he was returned to Wheeling where he served as a backup to Taylor Gauthier in a season-ending, 5-2 home loss in Game 5.

The future: There is reason to have legit optimism about the Penguins’ future and Murashov is a major component of that.

But that future isn’t here just yet. A full season — or close to it — in the AHL would offer plenty of benefits to a player who is still developing in a variety of ways.

On April 21, Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas suggested there would be an open competition between incumbents Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic as well as Blomqvist and Murashov for the goaltending jobs on the NHL roster in training camp.

But given the contract parameters in place (i.e. who needs to be exposed to waivers, salary cap hits, etc.) as well as Murashov — who turned 21 on April 4 — still somewhat inexperienced, keeping him in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for another season would offer quite a bit to him and the organization given what he potentially means to the long-term plans for the franchise. Rushing him to the NHL could have a negative effect.

Murashov means a lot to the Penguins’ future, just not yet.

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