With Matt Murray struggling, Senators change their goalie coach
Trading for former Penguins goaltender Matt Murray hasn’t worked out as expected for the Ottawa Senators.
And it cost Pierre Groulx his job as the Senators’ goaltending coach on Tuesday.
Murray, who won two Stanley Cups with the Penguins, was dealt to Ottawa on Oct. 6, 2020, for a second-round draft pick and forward prospect Jonathan Gruden.
Murray is 7-12-1 with a 3.84 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage. This year’s stats are much worse than his career marks of a 2.77 GAA and a .911 save percentage.
Ottawa, with a 13-22-4 record in the North Division, is last in the NHL in goals allowed, allowing 3.73 goals per game.
“Unfortunately, a number of our goaltending performances this season have been underwhelming,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement. “I think very highly of Pierre Groulx, he’s as dedicated and tireless a worker as anyone in the organization, but we recently reached a point where we thought a fresh outlook could help return some stability to our crease.”
Groulx was reassigned to a scouting and development role, replaced as the goaltending coach by Zac Bierk.
Former Penguins prospect Filip Gustavsson, acquired by the Senators in the Feb. 23, 2018, trade for Derick Brassard, actually has the best stats this season for Ottawa. Gustavsson is 2-1-1 with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage in four games.
Mike Palm is a TribLive digital producer who also writes music reviews and features. A Westmoreland County native, he joined the Trib in 2001, where he spent years on the sports copy desk, including serving as night sports editor. He has been with the multimedia staff since 2013. He can be reached at mpalm@triblive.com.
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