Murray reflects on year filled with learning experiences
"(The media) asked me that last year too and I'll give the same answer," Murray said back in September. "My job is to take things one day at a time. I'm not thinking about results or anything like that. I'm not thinking about an encore. I'm thinking about getting better each and every day. That's how I'm going to approach it."
Murray and the Penguins would not get the results they wanted. After his first two seasons in the NHL ended with him raising the Stanley Cup, and setting/tying numerous NHL and franchise records along the way, Murray experienced playoff defeat for the first time when the Penguins were eliminated in six games by the Washington Capitals.
The netminder, who turns 24 today (May 25), had been 7-0 in playoff series where he logged the majority of action prior to this spring's Second Round setback. And while the loss had him feeling "empty" at first, after a few days Murray said the main emotion he had was just overwhelming pride.
"Pride of being part of this team, pride in what we've accomplished," he said. "I just feel very lucky to be a part of this team. I say that a lot, but I really feel that way every day."
And the Penguins know they're lucky to have him. As Mike Sullivan wrote in
a letter to the fans
, "Matt Murray is a two-time champ who I believe is one of the best goaltenders in the league."
Murray is also incredibly mature for his age, someone who is grounded and has good perspective. So while the season didn't end in a championship parade down the Boulevard of the Allies, Sullivan also said sometimes you learn more from failures than successes - and that's a sentiment Murray is taking to heart.
"After two long championship seasons and coming back and trying to do it again, (I appreciate) just how difficult it is to win at this level," Murray said. "It's not easy, especially after two long seasons, to win again. The line between winning and losing is so thin in this league and probably the thinnest out of any pro sports league, I would say. Any team can beat any team on any given night. I say that all the time, but it's really true."
It's not just his failures or successes that Murray can learn from. This year, his first as a full time starter with Marc-Andre Fleury's departure, was filled with plenty of experiences - both on and off the ice - that he can draw on moving forward.
"A lot of it is about little things. Little, tiny things that you don't think are a big deal but that's what kind of separates the great teams from the good ones," he said. "So every year, I learn more and more about how to be a pro and how to handle the ins and outs of the long season, dealing with adversity, all that kind of stuff. This year was a huge learning year for me and I'm very appreciative of that."
Murray started 49 games this season, compiling a 27-16-3 record with a 2.92 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. He missed time with a few separate injuries, including a concussion suffered in practice in late February. He's feeling fine heading into the offseason, which is something that he's grateful for.
"How appreciative I am of the last two years and how appreciative you are for your health," Murray said of what he's taken away. "You never know when you can get hurt out there. And you always want to be healthy."
Murray also battled a ton of personal adversity when he missed time following the passing of his father, James, on Jan. 16. The two of them had been very close, and the loss hit Matt extremely hard.
"I've been through a lot of learning experiences, been through a lot of different things that most guys probably don't see at my age," he said. "And I feel very fortunate for that. Good things and bad things, but you learn from all of it. You learn from the bad things probably even more than the good things. I'll take that, and everything that's happened is going to make me stronger in the long run."
For the short term, Murray plans on taking advantage of having more time to improve his game and get ready for next year.
"My goal is just to get better each and every day," he said. "If you keep that course of action, I think you can do great things. So that's what I hope to do."
