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Oilers No Longer in Running for Penguins G Matt Murray?

The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly out of the running for goaltender Matt Murray. Why?

While there was news the Edmonton Oilers had inquired about the cost of acquisition of Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray, you can apparently scratch them off the list. According to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, the Oilers are seemingly out.

He doesn’t necessarily suggest he’s got an inside source providing confirmation on that, but Matheseon seems to be putting two and two together, and he’s not often wrong about such things.

Speculation as to why comes down to the fact that the Edmonton Oilers want a part-time starter, not a particularly expensive netminder that could expect 50-plus games in the regular season.

Probably the Right Decision

This makes a lot of sense from the Oilers perspective.

While Murray would have undoubtedly been an upgrade in net and his two Stanley Cup wins would have been a welcome addition to the roster, a player like Murray is not really a priority for GM Ken Holland this offseason, as money is better spent in other areas.

Holland has said he’s keen to keep the 1A and 1B tandem strategy alive in Edmonton and feels the NHL is now a two-goalie league. Bringing in Murray would not only see Holland have to veer from that strategy, but the money needed to re-sign Murray would create a ripple effect throughout the rest of the roster. Specifically, the Oilers would have to sacrifice bettering their blue line and finding a top-six forward.

Related: Oilers Have Window of Opportunity to Land Jake DeBrusk

Could Have Been Price Was Too High

The other thing that might be going on here is that the ask to acquire Murray was simply too high. It’s not illogical to assume Rutherford has a few teams kicking tires on the netminder and if he’s asking a lot, and the price was too rich for Holland’s blood, it makes the most sense to walk away and look to another goalie on the market.

There are a ton of them.

So too, if the Oilers couldn’t offload a problem of their own, what’s the point? In this year’s trade market, every team needs to be able to get and give. There is so much number crunching about to go down, we have to assume almost every trade will have an element of salary cap assistance involved.

Next: 5 Possible Trade Destinations For Canadiens Max Domi

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