He also knows there are more than a few doubters. The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the goaltender — a player seeking a return to the form that helped him win two Stanley Cups early in his career — from the Ottawa Senators on Monday along with two draft picks in exchange for future considerations. Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas’ move is arguably a bold one in a shrinking netminding market, with last year’s No. 1 pick, all-star Jack Campbell, set to hit free agency Wednesday at 12 p.m. . ET as Toronto looks to settle its longest summer. question mark. But despite solid career numbers, Murray’s statistical profile has fallen off the past three seasons, including two in the nation’s capital following a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, due to both poor play and injury. “I’m extremely motivated,” Murray said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. “I have a lot to prove.” Social media lit up — it’s the Leafs, after all — as soon as the trade closed, then exploded when it was announced. There was criticism of Murray the player, his contract and the fact that Ottawa only eats 25 percent of the remaining dollars.
“Toronto a great place” to push goalies
The 28-year-old intends to show that Dubas, who along with Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, had Murray in junior with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds a decade ago, she was right to take the plunge. “It’s all about pushing myself to try to be the absolute best I can be,” he said. “Toronto is a great place to do it. “A lot of excitement on my part.” Acquiring Murray was necessitated by a number of factors, including Campbell appearing ready to close and few other realistic No. 1 picks on the market where the dollars and term would make sense. Toronto also dealt underperforming netminder Petr Mrazek to the Chicago Blackhawks to clear salary cap space in the draft to make way for Murray’s move. The Leafs could look for another goaltender to work alongside Murray. But given nearly $4.69 million in salary commitments over the next two seasons — Ottawa is picking up that chunk of the $6.25 million cap hit in 2023-24 — it’s safe to assume Murray will he’s the first one when training camp opens. Toronto set team records for wins and points last season, while Auston Matthews became the first Leaf to score 60 goals and the third to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. But an extremely talented roster that also includes Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander up front has once again been unable to advance to the postseason – a franchise’s overall playoff drought that dates back to 2004 and includes a seven-game losing streak. “There are so many great players on this team,” Murray said. “It’s something I’m very, very excited to be a part of.”
Cup titles with penguins
A third-round pick of the Penguins in 2012, he appeared in 246 regular-season games, posting a 132-78-22 record with a .911 save percentage, 2.77 goals-against average and 14 shutouts. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native owns a 29-21 playoff record, including Cup wins with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, with a .921 save percentage, 2.18 GAA and six shutouts. A big concern from Toronto’s perspective, however, has to be Murray’s injury history, which includes a concussion, and his recent sample size, especially with Ottawa. The Senators signed the netminder to a four-year, $25 million contract following a trade in October 2020, with an eye toward leading a young team from the crease. The arrangement never worked in the nation’s capital, and Murray’s decline began before he left the Penguins. In his final season with Pittsburgh and two in Ottawa, he played just 85 games, going 35-36-8, with an .899 save percentage, 3.06 GAA and four shutouts. A low point came in November when it was placed on waivers, left unclaimed by the other 31 NHL teams and demoted to the American Hockey League.
“No hard feelings”
Murray could have sulked. Instead, he rebounded with a 5-4-2 record, a .941 save percentage and a shutout in 11 games over six weeks after returning to the bigs in January before a couple of bad outings and a neck injury ended his season in March. He knows me well, he knows my game well, he knows how to push me.— Matt Murray on new Maple Leafs head of goaltending development, John Elkin “There are no hard feelings,” Murray said of how things went in Ottawa. “But I’m focused on the present and the near future. “That’s where my energy is, my attention and my focus.” He will work in Toronto with new goaltending coach Curtis Sanford and Jon Elkin, who is the Leafs’ head of development at the position and has a long history with Murray dating back to the latter’s childhood in hockey school. “He knows me well, he knows my game well, he knows how to pressure me,” Murray said of Elkin. “I think he can bring a lot of knowledge to all of these issues.” Murray grew up a Leafs fan. It was also his late father’s favorite team. “We watched games together,” he said of James Murray, who died in 2018. “To be able to wear this shirt for the first time I think it’s going to be something really special. “I can’t wait to see everything he has and get things going.”
