Ryan Murray

Ryan Murray
Ryan Murray
Born	September 27, 1993 (age 33); Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey defenceman
Years active	2013–present
Known for	Playing in the NHL for Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers; Stanley Cup champion (2022)

Ryan James Murray (born September 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently an unrestricted free agent, most recently affiliated with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Chosen second overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Murray captured the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.

Junior

Murray was picked ninth overall by the Everett Silvertips during the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft and was appointed team captain as he entered his third season.

Columbus Blue Jackets

On June 22, 2012, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Murray second overall, ranking him second among North American prospects according to NHL Central Scouting. He inked a three-year entry-level contract on July 24, 2012. A shoulder injury in November 2012 necessitated surgery, which ended his WHL season prematurely and postponed his NHL debut.

He made his NHL debut on October 4, 2013, and scored his inaugural NHL goal on October 25, 2013. His initial professional years were disrupted by injuries, causing him to miss more than 35% of games across his first five NHL seasons.

Murray agreed to a two-year, $5.65 million contract extension with Columbus on February 11, 2016. Despite continued injury setbacks and missing nearly half of the 2017–18 season’s contests, he accepted a one-year qualifying offer on July 14, 2018. On July 1, 2019, he secured a two-year deal worth $9.2 million with the Blue Jackets.

New Jersey Devils

Following seven seasons with Columbus, Murray was traded to the New Jersey Devils on October 8, 2020, in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft. During the abbreviated 2020 season, he tallied 14 assists over 48 games while contributing to the Devils’ rebuilding efforts.

Colorado Avalanche

As a free agent, Murray signed a one-year contract valued at $2 million with the Colorado Avalanche on August 2, 2021. He began the season in a third-pairing defensive role and debuted in a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on October 13. Murray recorded his first points for Colorado with two assists during a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on October 28. After participating in 17 of the team’s first 18 games, he sustained a lower-body injury on November 27 facing the Nashville Predators.

Edmonton Oilers

Although sidelined for the entire latter half of the 2021 season and absent from the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs due to injury, Murray was granted an exception allowing his name to be engraved on the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup trophy. On September 2, 2022, he signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 with the Edmonton Oilers. Ongoing injury issues restricted him to just 13 appearances—all within the initial 19 games of the 2022–23 campaign—before being placed on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of both the regular season and playoffs.

International play

Murray secured a bronze medal at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, held in Calgary and Edmonton. That same year, he became one of the few draft-eligible players recently to compete for Team Canada at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, ranking as Canada’s second youngest participant after Paul Kariya. Four years later, he played a role in Canada’s gold medal victory at the 2016 IIHF World Championship. Additionally, Murray was named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008–09	Everett Silvertips	WHL	—	—	—	—	—	5	0	1	1	2
2009–10	Everett Silvertips	WHL	52	5	22	27	31	7	2	5	7	2
2010–11	Everett Silvertips	WHL	70	6	40	46	45	4	1	2	3	4
2011–12	Everett Silvertips	WHL	46	9	22	31	31	4	3	2	5	0
2012–13	Everett Silvertips	WHL	23	2	15	17	14	—	—	—	—

2013–14 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL || 66 || 4 || 17 || 21 || 10 || 5 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 2014–15 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL ||12||1||2||3||8||—||—||—||—||— 2015–16 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL ||82||4||21||25||40||—||—||—||—||— 2016–17 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL ||60||2||9||11||24||—||—||—||—||— 2017–18 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL ||44||1||11||12||8||6||0||1||1||2 2017–18 AHL season || Cleveland Monsters || AHL ||1||1||0||1||0||—||—||—||—||— 2018–19 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL ||56||1||28||29||10||—||—||—||—||— 2019–20 NHL season || Columbus Blue Jackets || NHL ||27||2||7||9||4||9||1||0||1||2 2020–21 NHL season || New Jersey Devils || NHL ||48||0||14||14||8|||—|||—|||—|||— 2021–22 NHL season || Colorado Avalanche || NHL ||37||0||4||4|||2|||—|||—|||—|||— 2022–23 NHL season || Edmonton Oilers || NHL ||13|||0|||3|||3|||4|||—|||—|||—|||— 2022–23 AHL season || Bakersfield Condors || AHL ||2|||0|||0|||0|||0|||—|||—|||—|||—

Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
NHL totals			445	15	116	131	118	20	1	2	3	4

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010	Canada West	U17	Eighth place	5	0	1	1	—
2010	Canada	U18	Seventh place	6	0	0	0	2
2010	Canada	IH18	Template:Gold1	5	0	2	2	2
2011	Canada	U18	Fourth place	7	3	7	10	6
2012	Canada	WJC	Template:Bronze3	6	0	3	3	0
"2012"	Canada	"WC"	Fifth place	6	-	-	-	-
"2016"	Canada	WC	Template:Gold1	10	-	5	5	-
"2016"	Team North America	"WCH"	Fifth place	3	-	-	-	_
_"2018"	_Canada_	_WC_	_Fourth place_	_10_	_ _	_1_	_1_	_4_
Junior totals				29!	3!	13!	16!	10!
Senior totals				19!	!	5!	5!	!

Awards and honours

Distinction	Year