Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 2:31pm

PITTSBURGH LANDS STAY-AT-HOME D-MAN MURRAY

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenseman Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks for a second-round pick in 2013 and a conditional second-round pick in 2014.

What does it give the Pittsburgh Penguins
Murray is a ready top-six stay-at-home defenseman who should bring a nice boost to a team in need of more depth and physicality in front of the net. Pittsburgh seems intent on bolstering their squad for a long playoff run, and Murray can certainly help with that. The Pens already have several offensive options on the blueline so Murray should be free to log big minutes doing what he does best: dole out hits, block shots, chip in on the penalty kill, and intimidate in Pittsburgh's zone.

What does it give the San Jose Sharks
Murray will be an unrestricted free agent this summer so the Sharks do well here to land a pair of quality draft picks for him. Both picks should eventually yield players who will be at least as talented as Murray, so this is a nice return for a player who may have left over the off-season. This deal may also signal the start of a house-cleaning of sorts for the disappointing Sharks, who are on the playoff bubble. The 2014 pick gets downgraded from Round 2 to Round 3 if the Pens don't win two playoff rounds and don't re-sign Murray.

Fantasy impact
Murray's arrival in Pittsburgh obviously means less ice-time for rookie rearguards {P Simon Despres} and {P Robert Bortuzzo}. That said, Murray is not a fantasy factor in the scoring department and so isn't useful fantasy-wise unless the league puts high values on hits and blocked shots. For the Sharks, recent healthy scratch {P Justin Braun} may see a reprieve from the press box going forward, and the Sharks may take a longer look at on-the-farm blueliners such as {P Nick Petrecki}.