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Matt Murray not worrying about Penguins' goaltending situation

AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

PITTSBURGH – Matt Murray knows the question will be directed at him numerous times when he returns to Pittsburgh Penguins training camp following the World Cup of Hockey.

He avoided social media over the summer and barely looked at his phone while celebrating a Stanley Cup victory back home in Thunder Bay, Ont. But following his first skate with Team North America at the Penguins’ practice facility Murray was asked if he preferred that head coach Mike Sullivan tell him and Marc-Andre Fleury who’s the starter is heading into training camp or if he would rather let competition decide the team’s No. 1 goalie.

“I don’t think about that stuff. I know this question’s going to come a thousand times, but really, that’s out of my control,” said Murray, who may start Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Czech Republic. “I just focus on my game and I play as best as I can with practice and games and morning skates, whatever it is; work on getting better every day. Whatever their decision is will be their decision. That’s not my place to worry about.”

With the Las Vegas expansion franchise set to draft its roster next June and the fact that the Penguins could very well likely lose one of their two goalies, rumors were abound in the off-season, mostly involving Fleury.

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Fleury will have two years and $11.5 million left on his deal after this season and his contract comes with a no-movement clause, meaning the Penguins would have to protect him in the expansion draft unless the 31-year-old netminder decides to waive it.

The Penguins survived the summer without moving either of their goaltenders, which is never a bad thing when you have one in Fleury, who had a successful regular season before getting injured just before the postseason, and Murray, who entered the playoffs with 13 games of NHL experience before leading the team to a fourth Cup.

It was no surprise that during the Penguins’ run Fleury was a helpful mentor for the 21-year-old Murray.

“He’s been unbelievable. I don’t know where I would be without Fleury’s mentorship, his advice,” Murray told Yahoo Sports following the Cup victory in June.

On Tuesday, he reiterated that appreciation of Fleury’s mentorship: “He was a big part of why I was able to stay relaxed and stay focused because he was able to crack a joke at the right time or give me advice when I needed it. He’s done it. He’s one of the best in the world and that’s never a bad thing to have alongside you.”

The Penguins enter the 2016-17 NHL season with nearly the same lineup that was on the ice celebrating following Game 6 in San Jose last June. Fleury is fully healthy and Murray is plenty rested after saying he didn’t think about hockey for most of the summer and only began skating again a few weeks ago.

“I think I got the rest that I needed. You know your summer’s been long enough when you’re getting that itch to get back on the ice and get back into that competition mode,” he said.

No matter how their goaltending situation gets resolved, the Penguins will have full seasons of playoff performers such as Conor Sheary, Trevor Daley, Bryan Rust and, of course, Murray, plus 82 games under Sullivan, whose hiring helped turn their season around. They’ve had a short summer, but they are primed for a repeat attempt.

“We had the keys that we needed last year to win, but we know nothing’s going to be handed to us this year,” said Murray, “especially off the start, people are going to be gunning for us because we’re the defending champs. That’s just how it goes. We just need to be ready for it. If we can gel like we did last year and play the same way then I think we’ll be successful.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!