Mark Madden: There's no goalie controversy; Matt Murray is the Penguins' No. 1

The Penguins don’t have a goalie controversy. Not yet.

Backup Tristan Jarry has played well: He’s 5-1 with a 1.86 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in his last six games. He made 28 saves as a Penguins team missing seven regular players blanked Stanley Cup champion St. Louis, 3-0, on Wednesday.

No. 1 goalie Matt Murray hasn’t sparkled. His numbers (2.84 goals-against average, .897 save percentage) are subpar. He’s leaked in some bad goals. He hasn’t stolen games. The Penguins could use that occasionally given their injury situation.

But Jarry hasn’t performed well enough, long enough to become the starter. (But perhaps he should get more games.)

Murray hasn’t been bad enough, long enough to be relegated to the bench. (He is shielded for the time being by his excellent resume.)

But Murray is in the last year of his contract. He’s a restricted free agent at season’s end.

The Penguins may be hesitant to give Murray the kind of deal he wants. The fact that Murray is in his current pact’s final season and an extension isn’t agreed upon or even being negotiated speaks volumes.

Murray’s free agency, as noted, would be restricted. That minimizes his leverage. RFAs almost never sign elsewhere. He won’t be unrestricted until after the 2020-21 season.

There aren’t many franchise-level goalies. Even if Murray doesn’t find elite form anytime soon, the Penguins basically have to keep him.

That’s why Matt Stafford has been Detroit’s quarterback for 11 years and is on a five-year deal worth $135 million. He’s mediocre, but who do you get to replace him?

Murray has been much better than mediocre. Two Stanley Cup rings attest.

But what does he want, and will the Penguins give it to him?

Andrei Vasilevskiy of Tampa Bay set the bar for goaltenders when he got an eight-year deal worth $9.5 million per. Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck’s contract seems to be at the bottom of the top. He’s getting $6.17 million per over six years.

Murray’s new contract will fall somewhere between the two. Would the Penguins give Murray an eight-year pact worth $8 million per?

Not right now. The Penguins almost certainly don’t feel Murray’s recent performance merits that kind of commitment.

Murray is a legit No. 1 goalie. But his brilliance of ’16 and ’17 gets smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror. The stats verify. The eye test confirms. Right now, he’s worthy of a Hellebuyck-level contract, but no better.

GM Jim Rutherford might not even feel that Murray merits that.

Rutherford might be spooked by his experience with Cam Ward. Rutherford was Carolina’s GM in 2005-06 when Ward, a rookie, won that franchise’s only Stanley Cup with inspired play between the pipes. But Ward, despite playing 14 NHL seasons, arguably never played that well again.

When you’re in a contract year, you’ve got to play better than Murray is. (See Dupree, Alvin.)

Murray will. He’s a top talent.

Perhaps splitting time with Jarry for a bit would help Murray. Murray was never better than was when he was being pushed by Marc-Andre Fleury. (But Jarry isn’t Fleury.)

Perhaps giving Murray a long run of games would get him some rhythm and consistency.

I don’t see Jarry as a potential No. 1. I doubt Penguins management does, either.

So, barring Murray playing worse and/or acrimony developing between him and the franchise, he will be the Penguins’ goalie for the long run. It’s a matter of what he gets, how long he gets it for, and how he plays after he gets it.

That’s unless Murray and his representation draw a hard line on getting a Vasilevskiy-type deal. Then, all bets are off.