Former Buffalo Sabres forward prospect Brett Murray signed a professional tryout contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, according to Sportsnet's Frank Seravalli.
Murray had spent his entire career in the Sabres organization since being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft before entering free agency this summer. The 6-foot-5 winger spent most of his time with the AHL's Rochester Americans, where he earned a 2025 All-Star selection.
The 27-year-old Canadian did make 26 appearances for Buffalo across four seasons. He recorded two goals, four assists, 28 hits and 25 penalty minutes in those contests.
Looking back at Murray's Sabres tenure
Murray made significant strides during his development to become an effective physical presence with a good defensive stick. His offensive game didn't make the same type of progress, however, and his subpar skating prevented him from claiming a full-time role in Buffalo.
The Sabres thought a breakthrough was on the horizon after the winger scored 76 points (41 goals and 36 assists) in 62 games for the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms in 2018-19. That offensive explosion came after two underwhelming years playing college hockey at Penn State.
Murray proceeded to sign with Buffalo and started his six-year run with the Amerks in 2019-20.
He produced some flashes of potential over the next few years but he was unable to sustain any high-level production for an extended period of time.
Murray finished his time in Rochester with 206 points (100 goals and 106 assists) across 325 regular-season games. That modest scoring rate dipped even further in the playoffs, where he recorded just 17 points (eight goals and nine assists) in 34 postseason outings.
He struggled to keep up with the pace of play during his occasional stint with the Sabres, which didn't lend much hope to him eventually carving out a role for the franchise, even on the fourth line.
In turn, Buffalo allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent when the market opened in July.
Analyzing Murray's fit in Pittsburgh
Murray found a nice landing spot this late in free agency. The Penguins have only modest veteran forward depth and the organization may be hesitant to promote top prospects during its current transition period, unless Sidney Crosby and Co. make a serious playoff push.
So, the longtime Amerks cornerstone will compete in training camp and the preseason with Blake Lizotte, Justin Brazeau and Connor Dewar for a place on the Opening Night fourth line.
A strong showing would at least give Murray a chance to either stick with the Pens as the club's 13th forward or potentially sign a two-way contract as a depth option who splits his time between the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL.
At this stage, it's doubtful the Ontario native will ever develop into more than a fringe NHLer who spends all of his time in the bottom six. Those players are still important, though. That's especially true for a team like the Penguins, who've struggled with depth production in recent years.
Murray's game doesn't have a ton of flash but he can be an effective, reliable piece to help round out the bottom of the lineup when playing his best hockey.
The Penguins open the preseason Sept. 22 with a trip to face the Montreal Canadiens. They finish the exhibition slate with back-to-back games against the Sabres (Oct. 1 and Oct. 3). Murray will probably play in at least one of those contests.
Pittsburgh drops the puck on the regular season Oct. 7 when it battles the New York Rangers.