Rutherford: Fleury not 'automatically out' due to Murray contract
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is pleading for people not to over analyze the signing of Matt Murray.
The team announced a three-year, $11.25-million contract extension with Murray on Thursday that will kick in at the end of this season, but with the expansion draft coming in June, Rutherford insists the new deal doesn't mean the team will be letting go of Marc-Andre Fleury.
"Let's not presume that Marc is automatically out," Rutherford said after practice. "He's been the franchise goaltender here. Let's let this play out."
Rutherford: Our focus this year is winning. We'll deal with expansion draft when it comes. Murray's deal nothing to do with that -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 20, 2016
Rutherford - who characterized the signing as a bridge deal - noted that talks about a potential extension picked up during training camp.
"We started talking about it during camp," said Rutherford. "It's good for Matt and good for the Penguins to get it done."
For a second straight day Murray - who is recovering from a broken hand -skated with the Penguins, but according to TSN's Bob McKenzie he remains a couple weeks away from game action.