The Hurricanes acquired some depth at forward this morning, signing free agent forward Matt Murley to a one-year, two-way deal.

Paul Branecky

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Canes GM Jim Rutherford said that although Murley doesn’t figure to crack a healthy Canes lineup, he’ll be among the first called in from Albany if the team loses a winger to injury.

”We gave him a two-way contract, but with a guarantee that he’s going to play some games here,” said Rutherford.  “We expect him to see some time here, and he’ll fit in good.”

Although listed as a forward, Murley, 28, will mainly play on the wing.  He’s played in 62 NHL games with Pittsburgh and Phoenix, scoring nine points.  He had one assist in three games with the Coyotes last season, and played a career-high 41 games with Pittsburgh in 2005-06, scoring six points.

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News Release: Hurricanes Sign Matt Murley

At the AHL level, the 6’2”, 206 pound Murley led the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, in goals (28) assists (41) and points (62) last season, in addition to scoring four points in seven playoff games.

When he does appear in uniform for the Hurricanes, he’ll become the fifth player from the second round of the 1999 draft to do so, joining Mike Commodore (42nd overall, New Jersey), Brett Lysak (49th overall, Carolina), Andrew Hutchinson (54th overall, Nashville) and Mike Zigomanis (64th overall, Buffalo).  Murley was taken 51st overall by Pittsburgh.

”It gives us some depth,” said Rutherford.  “He’s a player that can certainly play some games at this level.

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