Late Thursday afternoon, the Columbus Blue Jackets made their first RFA announcement of the year. Ryan Murray is now under contract for the next two seasons. Going into the day, Murray was one of five skaters on the verge of restricted free agency, so this move helps to define both the look and cost of the roster for the medium-term future. The official announcement is on the Blue Jackets website, and Rob Mixer tweeted that Murray will have a $2.825 M AAV through the 2017-18 season.
Ryan Murray hasn’t had the best season, although that’s a phrase you can apply to almost every Blue Jacket. Without his longtime partner James Wisniewski, Murray has suffered. His CF% has dropped, his shot suppression isn’t as impressive, and he had been bouncing from partner to partner. Murray has seen about equal time with each of Johnson, Tyutin, Savard, and Connauton this year (via Hockey Analysis).
The outlook has changed in the wake of the Johansen-Jones trade. In just a matter of weeks, Jones has become Ryan Murray’s top defensive partner. How has that helped Murray? Just this past week, Jeremy highlighted the positive impact of Seth Jones on the former #2 overall pick. In addition, The Coach offered some insight on how Jones may help to unlock Murray’s creative offensive skill. The defensive partnership is still in its early days, and Jones remains without a contract extension (another looming RFA), but the short-term returns are encouraging. At the very least, the Blue Jackets’ extension announcement keeps one half of the new top pair here.
As for the team’s roster situation? With contract talks and the trade deadline coming up, General Fanager or the War on Ice cap page should be your friend by now. Looking at the former, the CBJ now have four d-men under contract for next year, and three over the next two seasons (Murray, Johnson, Tyutin). However, recent reports from Doug MacLean suggest that Fedor Tyutin may be a trade candidate (via Hope Smoke). Another point: the Blue Jackets have four more RFA skaters to address eventually (Karlsson, Jenner, Prout, and Seth Jones).
The takeaway? The situation in Columbus is fluid right now, and the looming trade deadline means we should expect the unexpected. Keeping Murray here for the next two seasons, particularly at a low price point, is one step toward defining the future. Now we’ll wait for any Jones news on the horizon, and see how Jackets management shapes the team in the weeks to come.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
