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Senators waive Matt Murray after disappointing start to season

It's been another season to forget for Matt Murray. (Photo via Getty)
It's been another season to forget for Matt Murray. (Photo via Getty)

The Matt Murray experiment may be over in Ottawa.

Ottawa waived the 27-year-old goaltender on Saturday in just his second year of a four-year, $25-million deal that he signed after being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins in October 2020.

Murray, best known for back-stopping the Penguins to two consecutive Stanley Cup victories in 2016 and 2017, has failed to consistently showcase the glimpses of stardom he flashed during his first two seasons in the league.

The Senators made a calculated bet on Murray, assuming that goaltenders are subject to plenty of season-by-season variation, and that he was more likely to exhibit his Stanley Cup-winning form with an uptick in starts. Ottawa paid Murray like the goalie he was in 2017 and it temporarily burned them, but the organization hasn’t completely given up on him as a capable piece.

"We want him to get going," Senators coach D.J. Smith said Saturday via NHL.com. "He will be on waivers today and if someone picks him up, he'll get an opportunity there. If he doesn't, he'll likely go down to Belleville (American Hockey League) and get an opportunity to play and get his game back."

Murray was placed on the COVID-19 list on Nov. 11 and posted a 0-5-0 record in six starts (Anton Forsberg picked up the decision in an Oct. 23 loss to the New York Rangers) with a woeful .890 save percentage and 3.26 GAA.

Ottawa is in the midst of another rebuilding year in the competitive Atlantic Division, compiling a 4-13-1 record to date.

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