Murray to miss time; Fleury the man again

Mike Sullivan said.

Second, the players will rally behind Fleury, too.

“Both are amazing,” Trevor Daley said.

“Either one that goes in there, we’re just as confident in one as we are the other.”

Fleury is a slam-dunk solution as the starter. He has won two Cup titles, and only two active goalies have more wins.

But who backs up Fleury has taken on some added intrigue.

Jeff Zatkoff signed a freeagent deal with Los Angeles in the offseason.

Zatkoff was Fleury’s backup for part of last season, then relegated to an awkward role as the Penguins’ third netminder once Murray caught fire in the playoffs.

The most likely candidate is Tristan Jarry, who backed up some in the postseason. Jarry, though, struggled in the second half of the American Hockey League season in 2015-16 and wouldn’t be counted upon to make many starts, if any at all.

A dark-horse candidate could be Leland Irving, in camp on a professional tryout contract.

Irving is a former firstround pick (Calgary, 2006) and played 13 games with the Flames.

“We’ll discuss that over the next week or so or the next couple weeks,” general manager Jim Rutherford said.

“If we feel that we want to get those guys down to continue to develop and not sit here, there will be opportunities out there, probably waiver opportunities on the short term. We have lots of time to think about that.

“I know it’s early in camp, but Jarry has been very good — at the rookie tournament and the first couple of days here.”

With the expansion draft looming and Las Vegas preparing to pick its team, many expected Rutherford to trade Fleury this past offseason, perhaps at the NHL draft. Rutherford resisted. Coupled with the Phil Kessel trade, which saw Rutherford stick to his guns, he’s 2 for 2 on slowplaying things with the Penguins.

The move certainly looks smart now, especially with the news that the Penguins likely will enter opening night with their most recent Cup-winning goaltender on the mend.

“I’m happy we have two good goalies, whether we have injuries or not,” Rutherford said, pointing out that more will be learned within 10-14 days.

Murray’s injury won’t give Sullivan or Rutherford a reason to complain. Although the temptation might be to criticize the World Cup of Hockey, an exhibition where GMs and coaches sent their players to Toronto, neither man was interested in second-guessing the decision.

“There’s always risk associated with it,” Sullivan said. “But I think the rewards far outweigh the risk.”