Trade involving Murray brewing between Pens and Oilers?

Most fans assumed that the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins would move on from the qualifying round of the playoffs and move into the postseason, but it ended up being quite a different story. 

The loss of the Oilers at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks (who ended up getting eliminated last night by the Vegas Golden Knights) has had fans demanding that a change takes place in between the pipes, seeing that veteran Mike Smith couldn’t get the job done against the Hawks. 

That prompted team insider David Staples of the Edmonton Journal to see the possibility of the Oilers trading for goalie Matt Murray of the Penguins. Pittsburgh won’t be able to keep both Murray and Tristan Jarry on the roster and the pending free agent could be on the move. Here is what Staples suggests as a potential trade between the two teams that have lost their edge to be top contenders in the National Hockey League: 

“[At Pittsburgh Hockey Now, Dan] Kingerski pegs Murray’s value at a second round pick and maybe a prospect, or a favour. I’m returning to this again, but what about Jesse Puljujarvi for Murray? Or maybe, if Pittsburgh needs d-men but also wants to save on cash, veteran Kris Russell for Murray? Russell is still a solid NHL defender and while he has a $4.0 million cap hit next year, he will only be paid $1.5 million, which might well be attractive to a Pittsburgh team reportedly looking to lower its payroll.”

Would you pull the trigger if you were general manager Ken Campbell? What about if you’re Jim Rutherford? 

There is no doubt something needs to be done in between the pipes in Edmonton and the solution could be in Pittsburgh.