We write a lot about Ryan Murray here at Buckeye State Hockey. He’s been probably been the most prominently featured Blue Jackets player over the past season in all of our work. The reason for that is that he really is just that interesting of a player. He’s someone who was forced to be the grown up while partnered with James Wisniewski his first few years in the league. This allowed him to be very successful on the ice, but did not allow him the freedom to regularly put his tremendous gifts to their full use.
He also spent far too much time off the ice, as injuries have sapped him of over a full season’s worth of games over his brief, three year career. Then when you factor in his draft position (2nd overall), and the dearth of quality all around defensemen in CBJ history, and you have the recipe for an incredibly tantalizing player who you could realistically see having a long, All Star/Award filled career, an average career length filled with decent play, or be out of hockey in three years. You don’t see many players with that kind of swing at this point of their careers.
The flashes of that upside are the main reason that I have featured Murray in many, many, many Goal Breakdowns over the past year. He just has all of the tools to do just about anything he wants with and without the puck. Due to being paired with Wisniewski, and the revolving cast of dunces early last year, the potential that Seth Jones could unlock for Murray ws probably the biggest development for him this past year. That is saying a lot, considering he had career highs in assists, points, and games played in the NHL (4g, 21a, 25pts in 82gp), picked up 5 assists in 10 games for the gold medal winning Team Canada at the World Championships, played with Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey, and signed to a two-year contract extension worth $2.825M per year (which could end up being a steal).
Jeremy also discussed both his early season struggles, and how strong Murray and Jones were through their early time together, and I highly recommend reading to dig into how Murray had been used pre-Jones and post-Jones. During our Season in Review series, Paul gave Murray a C grade based on the totality of his 2015-16 season. An average grade totally makes sense, when you factor in all the external factors around Murray’s play on the ice, but it does speak to his ceiling that a career year like that at age 22 would only be considered a C. However, as a result of Murray being so much better with Jones (who himself had quite the year), the continuing familiarity and development of those two players is the true foundation for the Blue Jackets future.
Future Outlook
Murray will continue on the top pair with Jones. He’ll play big minutes in all situations. Hopefully he can stay healthy and continue the improvements we saw last season once Jones was acquired. He’s going to continue to flash special plays every game, but the next step will require he make those plays with regularity. If so, he could quickly become both one of the best young defensemen AND one of the best bargains in the entire NHL.
Age: 23 (09/27/1993)
Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’1″, 208lbs
2015/16 Team: Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)
Likely 2016/17 Destination: Columbus Blue Jackets
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