May 22, 2012 11:12 AM
According to the player himself, Checkers goalie Mike Murphy has signed a contract with a Russian team and will not return to the organization next season.
On Tuesday afternoon, Murphy, a 23-year-old who just completed his third professional season with the Carolina Hurricanes’ top minor-league affiliate, announced via Twitter that he will play for an undisclosed team in the Kontinental Hockey League, later revealed to be Spartak Moscow.
 The Hurricanes will retain the NHL rights for Murphy, a restricted free agent, for the duration of his time overseas. The Checkers' goaltending situation for next season continues to be wide open, as Justin Peters and John Muse, each of whom spent time in Charlotte this season, are without contracts for next season.
Murphy, the Hurricanes’ sixth-round pick in 2008, is the Checkers’ all-time leader in games played (76) and wins (39) by a goaltender. Among goalies with more than 20 games played, he ranks first in franchise goals-against average (2.63), save percentage (.914) and shutouts (3).
Named the best goaltender in all of Canadian major junior hockey while playing for the Belleville Bulls in 2008-09, Murphy has never been the undisputed starting goalie during his time with the Hurricanes organization, having backed up Peters during his rookie season with Albany in 2009-10 before splitting time with Justin Pogge and Peters over each of the last two seasons.
Murphy did claim a starting role in the team’s 2011 run to the Eastern Conference Finals, going 7-7 with a 2.57 goals-against average in 14 Calder Cup Playoff games. |
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