TSN.ca is reporting the Florida Panthers waived Kanata native Cory Murphy Monday. The Panthers website mentions nothing of this, instead stating he was recalled from a two-week conditioning stint. Murphy, who has somewhat of a flair for the offensive side of the game, was thought by some pundits to be part of a deal Ottawa's Bryan Murray was discussing with Panthers GM Jacques Martin.
Since 48-hours have passed since he would have been waived, it's safe to say that the Sens won't be claiming him. You would have to think that if he was waived and the Senators were willing to give up anything of value for him, they would have pulled the trigger on this one. That they didn't likely scuttles any notion that Murray was pursuing Murphy. The Panthers' defender is injury prone, having missed 60 games over the past two seasons due to shoulder injuries, but has put up decent offensive numbers in the NHL last season when healthy. He will be a UFA July 1st, and his price tag is what remains on his $825K deal.
If he has been waived, it would be nice to see BM the GM take a flyer on him. The risk is fairly low as the Sens can walk away from him at the end of the year, and he does bring a bit of what the Sens need to the table. At this point in the season there's really no reason not to look at what's out there when the price is right. Murray has shown a willingness to bring in guys with local connections for the right price (Shean Donovan, Brendan Bell, Jesse Winchester, Luke Richardson, Alexandre Picard) so don't be shocked if the Sens use some of their cap space during the summer to secure his services. He may be a suitable replacement for someone like Brendan Bell if Bell is not brought back.
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