23-year-old Penguins goaltender Matt Murray has won consecutive Stanley Cups during his first two seasons in the NHL. But according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Murray just wants to be Braden Holtby.
[Murray] recently struck up a friendship with Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, also one of the NHL’s best dressed — “You could tell he’s a guy who pays attention to his fashion,” Murray said.Though Holtby plays for a rival, Murray said he has long been one of his “idols” and a goaltender he hopes to emulate in terms of personal success and longevity in the NHL.
The irony is Holtby probably idolizes Murray for the team success he’s enjoyed, but Murray doesn’t think like that. He doesn’t consider himself a big deal.
Under Mitch Korn’s tutelege, Holtby, who was already great, became one of the best goaltenders in the league. Holtby won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender and tied Martin Brodeur’s single-season wins record in 2016. Over the last five NHL seasons, Holtby has 20 more wins than the next closest goaltender.
#NHL goalies: Wins over past five seasons
Holtby 177
Rask 157
Lundqvist 153
Crawford 150
Fleury 149
Price 146
Bishop 141
Bobrovsky 139 pic.twitter.com/QfWC4DUgyi— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 14, 2017
In Mackey’s story, Murray also has kind words for Marc-Andre Fleury, who was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
“Marc had been such a fixture in Pittsburgh,” Murray said. “To an extent, I feel like I was responsible for him leaving that. I know he probably would rather stay in Pittsburgh his entire career, for sure. I definitely feel bad in that regard.”
He added that “At the end of the day, I’m not going to fill Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoes. Nobody’s going to fill Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoes.”
Over the weekend, Murray also got to spend his day with the Stanley Cup. Per Philip Pritchard, Murray brought the Cup to his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. For a staged photo, he filled the Cup with popcorn for a TV night with his girlfriend — except the TV wasn’t plugged in.
Penguins fans were immediately on the case.
Judging by the lack of cords, he must be watching @Capitals #StanleyCup finals highlights.
— John Tuori (@JTTuori) August 13, 2017
Headline photo: Bruce Bennett. Photo edit: Ian Oland.
