Ryan Murray
Ryan Murray is finally giving Columbus Blue Jackets the the performance they have been waiting for. Murray, who has been healthy after a preseason injury, has played every game this season. He is playing like the Jackets second best defenseman so far in the 18-19 season and deserves high praise.
Much like Nutivaara, he is starting more than half of his shift in the defensive zone but has the second highest corsi rate on the team at 53.2%. He has shut down some of the best talent in the NHL and then helped the Jackets put up the seventh most goals in the league with his passing ability.
Murray has 10 points so far, nine of which are assist. Ryan is now playing alongside Seth Jones on the top pair and is also shouldering more minutes for the Jackets, averaging over 21 minutes a game. If that keeps up it will be a career high in time on ice for the 25-year-old.
Murray is showing that he is a top four defenseman and will earn him a nice pay check after this season. At the end of the year he will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
The year is looking to be Ryan Murray’s best in his young career after a great start.