Opinion: Is it finally time to give up on Matt Murray?

In case you missed it, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray was placed on the injured reserve YET AGAIN earlier today. 

And the worst part is… it looks like Murray will be out long term AGAIN with his most recent injury. At least, that’s according to head coach Mike Sullivan who described Murray’s injury as “longer term.”

“This is something that he’s been dealing with for a couple of weeks and the decision was made this morning to rest and see if that gives him an opportunity to heal,” Sullivan said. “This was not something that we expected… so that’s where we’re at.”

At this point though, should we really be surprised when Murray misses time? The 24 year old net minder has played just 11 games for the Pens this season and, frankly, he’s looked awful in those 11 games. He sports ghastly 4.08 goals against average and .877 save percentage, to go along with a subpar 4.-5-1 record. By comparison, backup Casey DeSmith has been solid with a 4-3-3 record, a .924 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average.

Murray has yet to put together more than 50 starts in an NHL season and has a habit of getting injured at the worst possible times. Not counting his leave of absence last season to grieve the loss of his father, Murray simply cannot be relied on to be there night after night for the Penguins. The frustration of Pens fans is evident whenever an announcement is made regarding Murray’s health. Scores of fans have called for him to be traded and many fans feel that GM Jim Rutherford made a HUGE mistake by gifting Marc Andre Fleury to the Vegas Golden Knights at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

What’s your call? Is it time to move on from Murray? Or should the team remain patient? After all, Murray is a two time Stanley Cup champion and has proven that when he’s on top of his game, he’s one of the best goalies in the world.