Stars sign G Matt Murray to one-year deal; no, this is not an error
The salary cap has certainly created some challenges for teams, especially following COVID-19 while the cap has remained flat. A number of teams are right up against the cap with little flexibility. One such team is the Dallas Stars, who, thanks to new deals for Jake Oettinger and Jason Robertson, were unable to call up 3rd string goalie Anton Khudobin from AHL Texas.
With Oettinger currently sidelined and only Scott Wedgewood on the NHL roster, the Starts signed minor league goaltender Matt Murray to a one-year, league minimum contract on Monday. No, it's not a mistake. They actually did sign Matt Murray, but not the one currently on LTIR with the Leafs. This Matt Murray was an undrafted NCAA free agent coming out of the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Murray played five seasons with UMass - Amherst, going 83-43-4 and posting a 2.21 GAA and .916 SV%. during his NCAA career.
We've now seen a second Sebastian Aho, Elias Pettersson and now a second Matt Murray as well!
Murray is expected to dress as Wedgewood's backup for Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Kings. With Oettinger's status up in the air, it's unclear whether the Stars will explore placing him on LTIR and using the cap relief to call up Khudobin. If not, we could see Murray back up Wedgewood until Oettinger is back to full health.
