In the summer of 2017, Jim Rutherford shrugged off the most scrutinized decision of his tenure as Penguins general manager. To him, it was a no-brainer.
Marc-Andre Fleury was a homegrown All-Star who bloomed out of the dark days before Sidney Crosby. He was one of the most beloved athletes in Pittsburgh. Without him, the Penguins would not have three of their five Stanley Cups, and Rutherford might not have a bronze bust in the Hall of Fame.
But Matt Murray, the only goalie in NHL history to win the Cup twice as a rookie, was 10 years younger, much cheaper and significantly steadier.
So Rutherford did what most, if not all, of the league's other GMs would have done. He let Fleury leave for Las Vegas and committed to Murray as the Penguins' goalie of the future. After all, the skinny, unshakable 23-year-old seemed poised to blast off to a Vezina-caliber level and orbit up there for a decade.
"If you're asking if he took a step forward, I would say no, he did not," said NBC Sports analyst Brian Boucher, the former Philadelphia Flyers goalie, last week.
Unexpectedly, the Penguins are approaching another crossroads in the crease.
With Murray and All-Star backup Tristan Jarry both scheduled to be restricted free agents whenever this offseason takes place, Rutherford and the Penguins face a much more complicated decision than the one three summers ago.
Murray, with two Cups under his belt, wants big bucks in his bank account. And the Penguins must decide how much money they are willing to spend to reaffirm their commitment to an inconsistent regular season performer who ranks 37th in the NHL in save percentage over the three seasons since Fleury left.
"I thought he would really run with things and be a goaltender that plays 60-plus games. That hasn't happened yet. That doesn't mean it can't happen," said NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton, the former NHL player, GM and agent.
Lawton added: "He's a year from (unrestricted free agency). So that's going to make this situation dicey for Jim Rutherford and the Pittsburgh Penguins."
If they can't find common ground, might Murray be elsewhere next season?
