TRADE DEAL:Leafs move Matt Murray to Marlies on conditioning loan……….
The Maple Leafs placed mothballed goaltender Matt Murray on the farm team Marlies for a conditioning loan on Long Term Injured Reserve on Saturday, marking an encouraging and very interesting roster move.
Murray is not guaranteed a spot in the postseason, but he has surprised expectations by recovering from two hip surgeries and participating fully in recent Leaf practices. Murray was expected to play with the Marlies in Syracuse on Saturday night.
“His (comeback) has been very much on the periphery. You see him in there working every day and because it’s often by himself and at odd hours with not many people around, you have a good appreciation of how long a road it has been and his mindset all the way through to give himself an opportunity to get back in net this season,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Saturday morning.
Murray underwent the operation in late summer, which freed up $6.25 million US in contract space and made Ilya Samsonov, Joseph Woll, and newly acquired Martin Jones the starting three goalies. Murray suffered lower body flexibility concerns in his first season and did not finish 2022–2023.
The Vegas Golden Knights went through several goaltenders prior to Adin Hill emerging for the Stanley Cup champions last year, and Toronto ultimately used them all. This illustrates how even the best-laid preparations in net can go awry.
“Those kinds of situations are plentiful,” Keefe remarked. “We kept Jones around here because depth is vital (after other Toronto depth goalies were previously lost on waivers). You never know in the long run, but that’s not where our attention is right now.
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