BUFFALO — After 628 days away from NHL action, Matt Murray is set to return in goal for the Maple Leafs.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion’s road back to the NHL has seen him endure a bilateral hip surgery in October 2023 and two separate stints with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
The Leafs recalled Murray from the Marlies on Friday morning after going 4-1-2-1 with an impressive .931 save percentage to start the AHL season.
Murray has been beset by injuries throughout his career, with hip surgery causing him to miss the most playing time since entering the NHL in 2015-16.
“It hasn’t been forgotten in my mind what he’s accomplished in this league in his career,” Leafs forward Max Pacioretty said. “And it’s really nice to see a guy get an opportunity there who has been battling through injuries and feels really good about his body and his game.”
It was Murray’s record and fairly consistent play through the early Marlies season that led the Leafs to bring Murray back into the fold. Coach Craig Berube pointed to how well the 30-year-old Murray has been playing in the AHL ahead of Friday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.
“(Murray) still has a lot of fire inside,” Berube said.
Murray last played for the Leafs on April 2, 2023.
Anthony Stolarz’s knee injury will keep him out of action for at least the next month. Dennis Hildeby has also seen time with the Leafs, but allowed three goals on 27 shots against the Sabres on Dec. 15.
The Leafs originally acquired Murray in July 2022 in a trade with the Ottawa Senators. The Leafs only shipped future considerations (a third- and a seventh-round pick) to the Senators in return for the netminder. The Senators ate 25 percent of Murray’s cap hit for the two remaining years on his contract, leaving the Leafs on the hook for his $4.68-million cap hit for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Murray re-signed with the Leafs on a one-year $875,000 deal ahead of this season, ostensibly to be ready should injuries hit either Joseph Woll or Stolarz.
Injuries ultimately got in the way of Murray shining with the Leafs. In his one season before surgery, he played just 26 games and put up a .903 save percentage. Former Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov went down with injury during the 2023 playoffs. Despite Murray being available to play for the Leafs, then-head coach Sheldon Keefe turned to Woll instead.
Yet it’s everything that Murray has done before his last game with the Leafs that has led him back to the NHL.
“This guy’s got a lot of experience, and he’s won,” Berube said of Murray on Dec. 18.
(Photo: Eric Hartline / USA Today)
