The Maple Leafs have acquired Matt Murray in an exchange with the Ottawa Senators as Toronto seeks to replenish its goalie depth.
Trade is for future consideration. Senators will also send a third-round pick in 2023 and a seventh-round pick to Toronto.
Senators withhold 25 percent of Murray’s $ 6.25 million (and $ 15 million in total salary) salary for the next two seasons, meaning Murray will represent $ 4.68 million in success in Toronto books.
Murray, 28, lost the starting net in Ottawa to Anton Forsberg last season and at one point approved the exemptions and spent time at the AHL. The two-time Stanley Cup champion had a 5-12-2 record in 20 starts last season with a .906 savings percentage, a slight improvement after two seasons of a savings percentage below of .900.
Joining the Maple Leafs, Murray will be reunited with some familiar faces from his OHL days. Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe worked with Murray with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds has been around for almost a decade and Leafs goalie appraiser and developer Jon Elkin has worked with Murray for many years.
“There are a lot of people who think Matt Murray still has the ability,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said in the latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, citing sources who know Murray and others who don’t. “They think he’s tackled some of the structural flaws he’s had in his game, in terms of moving from side to side, which (people) think makes him a better goalkeeper now.
“The biggest question they have about Murray is, can he stay healthy?”
The move is almost certain that Jack Campbell will not return to the Maple Leafs net next season, but more moves could come. After Petr Mrazek was loaned to the Chicago Blackhawks last week, Erik Källgren is next on the net for Toronto with Joseph Woll and FRG Ian Scott also in the organization.
The senators nearly replaced Murray in the Sabers in the draft, as seen alongside the seventh overall selection, but the goalkeeper used his no-change clause to block the move. The Senators later included the seventh overall pick in a commercial package to get Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks.