Ryan Murray Explained

Birth Date:27 September 1993
Birth Place:Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:206
Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
League:NHL
Team:Free agent
Former Teams:Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Ntl Team:CAN
Draft:2nd overall
Draft Year:2012
Draft Team:Columbus Blue Jackets
Career Start:2013

Ryan James Murray (born September 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Murray was drafted second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Murray won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.

Playing career

Junior

Murray was drafted ninth overall by the Everett Silvertips at the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft. He was later named captain of the team for the start of his third season in Everett.[1]

Professional

Columbus Blue Jackets

On June 22, 2012, he was chosen second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft after he was ranked second among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting list.[2] The following month on July 24, 2012, Murray signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets.[3] On November 16, 2012, Murray injured his shoulder during a game with the Silvertips. He would later undergo shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the WHL season (also making him unavailable for NHL play).[4]

Murray played his first NHL game on October 4, 2013, against the Calgary Flames. He scored his first NHL goal on October 25, 2013, against Jonathan Bernier of the Toronto Maple Leafs.[5] Murray has missed a significant amount of time due to injuries,[6] missing over 35% of his first five seasons in the NHL.

On February 11, 2016, the Blue Jackets re-signed Murray to a two-year, $5.65 million contract.[7] Injuries continued to reduce his playing time and, after missing nearly half the games in the 2017–18 NHL season, he signed a one-year qualifying offer from the Blue Jackets on July 14, 2018.[8] On July 1, 2019, Murray signed a two-year, $9.2 million contract with the Blue Jackets.

New Jersey Devils

After seven seasons with the Blue Jackets, on October 8, 2020, Murray was traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round draft pick.[9] In the shortened season, Murray registered 14 assists through 48 regular season games with the rebuilding Devils.

Colorado Avalanche

On August 2, 2021, as a free agent from the Devils, Murray was signed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.[10] He began the season, placed in a third-pairing role with the Avalanche, making his debut on opening night in a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on October 13, 2021.[11] He registered his first points with the Avalanche, recording 2 assists in a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on October 28, 2021.[12] He appeared in 17 out of 18 games with Colorado before suffering a lower body injury against the Nashville Predators on November 27, 2021.[13]

Edmonton Oilers

Despite being on injured-reserve for the entire second half of the, and missing the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs, Murray was given an exemption by the NHL allowing his name to be engraved with the Avalanche Stanley Cup-winning team. The Edmonton Oilers signed the free agent to a one-year, $750,000 contract on September 2, 2022.[14] Murray's injury problem persisted, restricting him to only 13 gamesall in the first 19 games of the 2022–23 Edmonton Oilers season[15] before ending up on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.[16]

International play

Murray participated at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Calgary and Edmonton and won the bronze medal.

In 2012, Murray became the first draft eligible player to represent Team Canada at the World Championship in many years. Murray became the second youngest Team Canada player to play in the tournament (the youngest was Paul Kariya in 1993).[17] Four years later, Murray again played for Canada, winning gold at the 2016 World Championship. Murray was also named to Team Canada to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[18]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2008–09Everett SilvertipsWHL50112
2009–10Everett SilvertipsWHL52522273172572
2010–11Everett SilvertipsWHL70640464541234
2011–12Everett SilvertipsWHL46922313143250
2012–13Everett SilvertipsWHL232151714
2013–14Columbus Blue JacketsNHL66417211050110
2014–15Columbus Blue JacketsNHL121238
2015–16Columbus Blue JacketsNHL824212540
2016–17Columbus Blue JacketsNHL60291124
2017–18Columbus Blue JacketsNHL441111286 0 112
2017–18Cleveland MonstersAHL11010
2018–19Columbus Blue JacketsNHL561282910
2019–20Columbus Blue JacketsNHL2727949 1 012
2020–21New Jersey DevilsNHL48014148
2021–22Colorado AvalancheNHL370442
2022–23Edmonton OilersNHL130334
2022–23Bakersfield CondorsAHL20000
NHL totals44515116131118201234

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2010Canada WestU178th5011
7th6 0 002
2010CanadaIH1850222
CanadaU184th7 3 7106
Canada6 03 3 0
Canada5th6 00 0 0
CanadaWC1005 5 0
2016Team North AmericaWCH5th30000
2018CanadaWC4th100114
Junior totals 2931316 10
Senior totals 190550

Awards and honours

AwardYear
NHL
Stanley Cup champion2022[19]
International
U18 First Team All-Star2011[20]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ryan Murray Tabbed as 2011-12 Captain . everettsilvertips.com . January 30, 2019 . April 5, 2011.
  2. Web site: 2010 NHL Central Scouting rankings . . 2012-06-10 . 2012-06-20 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20120713001601/http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=79331 . 2012-07-13 .
  3. Web site: Columbus Blue Jackets Sign 2012 First Pick Ryan Murray To Standard Three-Year Entry Level Deal . NHL.com . January 30, 2019 . July 24, 2012.
  4. Web site: Blue Jackets prospect Ryan Murray undergoes successful shoulder surgery . . January 10, 2013 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130312032456/http://bluejackets.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=649729 . March 12, 2013 .
  5. Web site: Blue Jackets top Maple Leafs for third straight win . Columbus Blue Jackets . October 25, 2013 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185517/http://bluejackets.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2013020150 . October 29, 2013 .
  6. Web site: Ryan Murray's Injury History: Cause for Concern? . February 18, 2015 . 2015-06-26 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150626112801/http://thehockeywriters.com/ryan-murrays-injury-history-cause-for-concern/ . 2015-06-26 .
  7. Web site: Blue Jackets sign Murray to two-year contract . NHL.com . January 30, 2019 . February 11, 2016.
  8. Web site: Blue Jackets' Ryan Murray accepts 1-year qualifying offer . sportsnet.ca . January 30, 2019 . July 14, 2018.
  9. Web site: Devils acquire Ryan Murray from Columbus . . October 8, 2020 . October 8, 2020.
  10. Web site: Avalanche signs Ryan Murray . . August 2, 2021 . August 2, 2021.
  11. Web site: Byram gets first NHL goal, Avalanche beat Blackhawks 4-2 . . October 13, 2021 . October 13, 2021.
  12. Web site: Compher scores twice in Colorado's win over St. Louis . . October 28, 2021 . October 28, 2021.
  13. Web site: Ryan Murray out indefinitely for Avalanche . ColoradoHockeyNow.com . November 29, 2021 . November 29, 2021.
  14. Web site: Oilers sign Ryan Murray to a one-year deal . . September 2, 2022 . September 2, 2022.
  15. Web site: Ryan Murray Game Logs 2022–23 . . 2023-05-10.
  16. News: Edmonton Oilers injury report feat. Ryan McLeod, Ryan Murray, and more . Abhilasha . Aditi . 2023-04-07 . . 2023-05-10.
  17. Web site: Murray added to Canadian roster at World Hockey Championship . . 2012-04-01 . 2012-04-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120508071315/http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/story/?id=395017 . 2012-05-08 .
  18. Web site: Hockey Canada adds WHL Alumni Ryan Murray to roster for 2018 IIHF World Championship. whl.ca. May 3, 2018. April 28, 2018.
  19. Web site: Colorado Avalanche win first Stanley Cup since 2001 with Game 6 comeback . . 26 June 2022 . 26 June 2022.
  20. News: Prospects report from World Under 18's . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110501124303/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/markseidel/2011/04/prospects-report-from-world-under-18s.html . May 1, 2011 .