Penguins sign Matt Murray to three-year contract extension

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced on Thursday that they have re-signed goalie Matt Murray to a three-year contract extension. The deal was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

"It's not something we felt we had to get done within a week," Rutherford said. "We knew it would have to go through the process. I think it's good for Matt and good for the Penguins to get it done. It's not something that's on his mind in a contract year and we're very happy to have him in the fold for three years.

"We have a young goalie who has had a very good career. He won a Stanley Cup and played extremely well, and we feel he has a bright future ahead and a long future ahead of him."

The deal begins with the 2017-18 season and runs through the 2019-20 campaign, and it carries an average annual value of $3.75 million.

"I'm thrilled, obviously," Murray said. "Pittsburgh is a great place to play. You hear that a lot. [Penguins captain Sidney Crosby] was talking about how guys from Canada were kind of jealous of our facilities and our city. So, it's a great place to play and anybody in their right mind would want to be here."

Murray, 22, backstopped the Penguins to the franchise's fourth Stanley Cup championship in June, becoming just the fourth rookie goalie in NHL history to lead his team to a championship. Murray racked up 15 postseason wins along the way, equaling the NHL record for wins by a rookie netminder.

The 6-foot-4, 178-pound netminder broke into the NHL last December, making his NHL debut against Carolina on Dec. 19, 2015, then earning his first win two days later against Columbus.

A native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Murray split last year between Pittsburgh and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. He joined Pittsburgh for good on Feb. 27, and ended the regular season by winning seven-consecutive games before going on his historic postseason run.

Murray, who still qualifies as an NHL rookie in 2016-17, finished his first NHL season with a 15-6 postseason record, along with a 2.08 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 21 appearances. He went 9-2-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in 13 regular-season contests.

This year, Murray has yet to play as he continues to recover from a broken hand he suffered at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in September, when he was serving as the No. 1 netminder for Team North America.

During Murray's one-plus year in the AHL with WBS, he compiled one of the greatest runs any goalie has had in the history of that league.

As a rookie in 2014-15, Murray took the league by storm, winning AHL Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, while also earning spots on the AHL All-Rookie and First-Team All-Star squads. Murray played in 40 games that year, amassing a 25-10-3 record, a 1.58 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage and 12 shutouts. His shutout total and goals-against average led the league.

Before his permanent promotion to Pittsburgh last season, Murray proved his success wasn't a fluke, going 20-9-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in 31 games. Those totals earned him a berth on the AHL Second-Team All-Star squad.

The Penguins originally chose Murray in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He played four seasons of junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League before turning pro.