Murray in the lineup?

Is Murray with SJ for today's game?

Methinks someone got faulty information.

Being that anybody disseminating information on Slope Day is probably drunk, this is not completely shocking.

Even if he was called up by SJ, it doesn't mean he'd be in the lineup.

can't imagine he'd be at slope day if he was going to be playing a playoff game in two days...

No transaction pages have reported Murray being called up. He was not listed as a scratch for San Jose today on any major source which confirms that he has not been called up.

Would he even be eligible for the playoffs? I'm not that familiar with NHL rules on playoff eligibility, but wouldn't he have to be on the roster before the end of the reguler season?

I'm pretty sure the playoff rosters have to be set by now. Regardless, and correct me if I'm wrong, I had interpreted the initial news as that he had been summoned to San Jose not to play, but to get the experience of being with an NHL team in the playoffs, similar to the Zach Parise situation with the Devils.

Well, don't know if this means anything, but CNNSI has him listed on the Sharks roster, but without a number and 'inactive' starred next to his name.

You're probably right. The team probably wants him to see what the playoffs are like at the top level and presumably to practice with the team. I don't know if teams typically do this with prospects, but it certainly has to be a good sign for Murray.

[Q]KeithK Wrote:

You're probably right. The team probably wants him to see what the playoffs are like at the top level and presumably to practice with the team. I don't know if teams typically do this with prospects, but it certainly has to be a good sign for Murray.
[/q]

Maybe they just wanted to get him away from all the fighting and hatcheting in the minors. Which could be another sign of respect for his future. Not that the NHL is in danger of being a non-checking league, but it seems as if some of the marginal talents hoping to make the big ice show want to use their fists to impress.

[q]Maybe they just wanted to get him away from all the fighting and hatcheting in the minors.[/q]Murray played with his AHL team (can't remember who all of a sudden) until they were eliminated. So it's not that...

Playoff rosters do not have to be set by now. Teams can call up players for as long as they are in. Generally, when teams AHL affiliates are eliminated from the playoffs, they'll call up 5-10 guys to be on their "taxi squad." Most of them wouldn't even travel with the team but would keep skating in case of emergency. These callups would be indicated on official transcations and thus Murray was likely not recalled. If he would have been recalled, it would have happened immediately after Cleveland was eliminated, not a few days after.

Thanks for the clarification Ari. Strange that you can change playoff rosters whenever...

The Sharks actually had a player make his NHL debut in this year's playoffs...Marcel Goc...he played one game in the St. Louis series and one game in the Avs series, he got a point in each...so a player can join the team in the playoffs even if he didn't play for them in the regular season.

[www.nhl.com]

[Q]KeithK Wrote:

Strange that you can change playoff rosters whenever...[/q]

Unlike baseball or basketball, the entire roster isn't eligible to play on any given night. You dress 18 skaters, and those are the only guys who can play that game. Until a few years ago, the NHL used to have no roster-size limit (and no injured list). By limiting the pool of eligible players for a game to 18 skaters and 2 goalies, no roster limit is inherently needed.

[Q]cornelldavy Wrote:

The Sharks actually had a player make his NHL debut in this year's playoffs...Marcel Goc...he played one game in the St. Louis series and one game in the Avs series, he got a point in each...so a player can join the team in the playoffs even if he didn't play for them in the regular season.

[www.nhl.com][/q]

That isn't uncommon. Others who made their NHL debut in the playoffs are Trent Hunter and te immortal Steve Junker.

Brock Treadway's only NHL game came in the postseason. Don Cherry's NHL playing experience is also limited to postseason action.

[www.hockeydb.com]

I can see how the game-eligible limit makes things a little different from baseball or football. But I'm still surprised that there's no roster limit if only for cost control reasons.

The fact that there could be no roster limit doesn't imply that playoff rosters shouldn't be limited in some way. Seems pretty crazy to me for a guy who hasn't played so much as a single regular season game to play in the playoffs. But in the NHL it really is considered a "second season", so maybe it makes some sense...

I assume that the trade deadline in the NHL is a lot firmer than it is in baseball, where trades routinely continue in the two months following the "deadline". I'll also assume that there's some sort of rule preventing a team from releasing a player so that he can be picked up by another franchise for a playoff run. I can imagine this happening in the case of an aging veteran who's in the final year of his contract but wants one more run at the cup.

Brennan Evans for the Flames made his NHL debut in this year's playoffs in Games 3 and 4 against Detroit.

Regarding the roster limit in the NHL, there is a 23 man roster limit (of course not counting injured reserves). That cap is lifted immediately following the trade deadline and there is no limit after that.