Penguins' Rutherford: 'Very tough decisions ahead' with Murray, Jarry
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is set to face yet another tough decision when it comes to managing his goaltenders.
"I'll say this: If we are going to keep both (Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry), we'd have to move a few things around on our team," Rutherford said, according to The Athletic's Josh Yohe. "There is a way to do things and to make that work, yes. There are some very, very tough decisions ahead."
Murray and Jarry, both 25, are set to be restricted free agents at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. With more than $68 million already committed to the Penguins' 2020-21 roster, keeping the pair will be an even bigger challenge with so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the salary cap.
Rutherford compared the current situation to a similar one he faced in 2017 when he let longtime goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury go to the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
"Letting (Fleury) go was really tough," Rutherford said. "I'd have loved to have kept them both (Murray and Fleury). Both great goaltenders, both championship goaltenders. But with Marc-Andre's cap number, it was just too hard to do without disrupting the rest of the team. And we may be in that place again. The cap isn't going up. No way is that happening. But we don't know precisely what it will be. And we know we have very good goalies in our system.
"So, we have to make some tough decisions coming up."
Jarry greatly outplayed Murray in his first full NHL season. He compiled a 20-12-1 record with a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average while earning a spot in the All-Star Game.
Murray, meanwhile, struggled at times. He put together a 20-11-5 record to go with a .899 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average. Still, the 25-year-old has an impressive resume after previously leading the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships.
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