Despite working in the bright glare of professional hockey, Matt Murray finds his privacy where he can.
How private is Murray?
This is a man, the Ottawa Senators new goaltender, who eloped with his fiancee, Christina, in 2019 and had his two Newfoundland dogs, Beckham and Leo, serve as his groomsmen at the wedding.
So, when Christina gave birth to the couple’s first child recently, it should come as no surprise when Murray told us on a Zoom call that they were keeping the name of their new daughter from the public, sharing only with friends and family.
That didn’t stop the new father from gushing about what he called a “life-changing experience.”
“Everything went really smooth,” Murray said. “Our baby girl is perfect. I’m very thankful to have a couple of days (away from camp) to be there for it.”
Murray was back at work Tuesday and Wednesday, getting to know his new Senators teammates after five years in Pittsburgh, winning two Stanley Cups with the franchise that drafted him in 2012.
If Murray did one of those psychology tests that assess your stress levels due to changes in your personal life — related to family, occupation, and moving to a different city etc. — he would check nearly every box. And those off-the-rack quizzes don’t tend to include a global pandemic going on at the same time.
Toss that in for good measure.
Yet, the 26-year-old Thunder Bay, Ont., native is beyond calm — outwardly at least. Just the kind of demeanour a coach would want in a goaltender taking on the challenge of working with an evolving Senators roster, a mix of green kids and veterans who have mostly just got here, like Murray.
“It’s still a strange time, with everything going on — all these regulations and stuff like that,” said Murray, shedding his protective health mask — not the goaltender mask — to speak to reporters.
“We were obviously being very careful with the baby coming. It’s been different but overall a ton of fun. I’m super happy to be here. Super happy to be a father. I have no complaints.
“It’s been a big transition, moving here and becoming a father, but a real blessing I think. My time here so far has been awesome. I can’t say enough about it. All the guys have welcomed me here, from top to bottom.
“I’m very thankful the way everybody has been so welcoming to me and my wife.”
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Partly because of their pending baby arrival, Murray came to Ottawa early, in the fall. He got to know his new goaltender coach, Pierre Groulx, and reached out to some of the Senators’ young stars, including Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot.
Murray played with Chabot on Canada’s team at the 2019 world championships in Slovakia. He also knows Tkachuk from having skated with him in Toronto during NHL off-seasons.
“They are two guys I had some familiarity with and wanted to reach out to those guys,” Murray said. “It’s building relationships. That is what that’s about.”
Murray was also a teammate of defenceman Erik Gudbranson in Pittsburgh for parts of the 2018-19 and ‘19-20 seasons. Big and physical, Gudbranson has been Chabot’s partner in camp.
How different Murray’s role is here. In Pittsburgh, he was the kid who unseated Marc-Andre Fleury as the starter (a development he felt badly about, that’s how thoughtful Murray is). He could play goal there and let Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and other leaders show the way.
With Ottawa, Murray will be part of the veteran group out to mentor a host of young talent just coming into the organization. Murray now knows himself how it feels to be displaced by a younger goalie and is looking to rebound in Ottawa after an off-year with the Penguins in 2019-20. Murray was traded to the Senators on Oct. 7 for prospect Jonathan Gruden and a second-round pick. Murray promptly signed a four-year, $25-million US contract.
He was asked how much he learned from Crosby et al in Pittsburgh.
“You just can’t help but pick up certain things when you spend so much time with players like that,” Murray said. “Obviously Sid is the pinnacle of (leadership) I would say. I’m very thankful I was able to spend that time with them, share the room with them, share the ice with them, just learn the little things. How to be a professional. How to compete each and every day, that type of stuff.”
Goaltenders don’t tend to lead by way of oratory.
“Especially, for me, I’m not a super vocal guy,” he says, “but just try to come in and compete each and every day — I think that’s how I can bring some form of leadership.”
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Getting to learn the tendencies of his defencemen while learning a new system, will take some time, Murray says. How much time, he isn’t certain.
“It’s something that just develops day to day and something we’re building here right now and we’re going to keep building throughout the season,” Murray says.
Communication will be vital, especially involving those small, co-operative plays around and behind the net. Things that become second nature to long-time teammates.
“A big thing is puck-handling,” Murray says. “That’s the one time everybody has to be on the same page. A lot of times it’s not verbal communication, just reading off each other and knowing what each player likes to do out there.
“Knowing what different guys like, where they like the puck — that will come with time. Just getting to know each other and spending some time together.”
A full week into training camp, the Senators have had some time to do that. Things will ramp up this next week, including a scrimmage that will mimic a game-day experience — a light morning skate followed by a scrimmage later in the day or evening.
How many games Murray will start in this compressed 56-game season remains to be decided. Like everything else, it will be a fluid situation. Marcus Hogberg is expected to back up Murray.
“When the season starts we’ll measure the workload, if (Murray) is tired or how he’s playing,” said head coach D.J. Smith. “We feel Hoggy is very capable and needs starts as well. We’re certainly not a finished product, we’re a young team that’s looking to get better and we have to try to develop a guy like Hoggy as well.”
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Anisimov, White and Chabot cited by Smith
Third-year centre Colin White continues to impress Smith. Working on a line with Drake Batherson and Nick Paul, White was mentioned as one of the standouts in Wednesday’s scrimmage. Artem Anisimov scored a goal on a breakaway and Chabot was “at his best,” according to Smith.
“He was skating well, he was physical,” Smith said. “There was a lot of guys who played well but those three guys stuck out.”
High praise for golden Sanderson
Smith noted that USA defenceman Jake Sanderson, the Senators’ 2020 fifth-overall draft choice, looked like a man among teenagers at the world junior level. Sanderson and his USA teammates beat Canada 2-0 in the gold medal final Tuesday night.
“He’s playing well above his age,” Smith said. “The way he works. His stick on puck, his facing the puck.
“The way he plays the game is like a 24-year-old defenceman that’s been through the battle and learned. So whoever’s taught him — and kudos to him for learning — but he’s a player who’s going to play in the NHL and a real smart one at that.”
Smith referred to the championship game as “probably the fastest gold medal game I can remember in a long time. That’s a lot of good hockey players out there.”
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