23-year old goaltender Mike Murphy(31) leaves restricted free agency on the table with Carolina Hurricanes for what would have been his fourth year in the system and looks to Russia to play with Spartak Moscow in the KHL.
The news was initially heard via his @MichaelMurphy31 twitter.
He played 96 regular season games with their AHL affiliates Charlotte Checkers and Albany River Rats and put up respectable numbers but it was his work in the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs getting them into the Eastern Conference Finals that cemented his status as a true prospect.
He got his first NHL nod in net this season and despite not letting in a goal in a pair of appearances was saddled with the loss in one of the games because he was the goalie of record after the Hurricanes pulled him for the extra skater and let up an empty-netter but then surged back late with two goals of their own, still losing the game by one. Tough break there.
The 5’11” 165 lbs. netminder will likely do well over there but we may not have seen the last of him in North American hockey.
