Former Leafs goaltender says the Leafs have improved substantially by going from Campbell to Murray
Leafs goaltending is always a hot topic of discussion, but perhaps never hotter than it's been this summer. The Leafs weathered the storm last season with well below mediocre goaltending from Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek and played their way to a top-4 finish in the NHL. But, when the Leafs parted with both halves of last year's primary tandem, that's when Leafs Nation split into two factions: those for Jack Campbell and those for Matt Murray.
It's crazy to think that a goaltender who has won two Stanley Cups in his career is perceived as a weaker option than a career backup goaltender with one short year of excellent production followed by a full year of below average production, but here we are. Granted, Murray's stellar play in training camp appears to have lowered the temperature a bit, but there are still a lot of non-believers out there. However, former Leafs goaltender Andrew Raycroft is not one of them.
During an appearance on Real Kyper and Bourne on Thursday, Raycroft revealed that he believes that the Leafs took a huge step up in the goaltending department this summer, fully endorsing the Matt Murray acquisition.
-Raycroft on the Leafs coming into the 2022-23 season with a Murray/Samsonov tandem
Look, I enjoyed Jack Campbell during his time in Toronto, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't rooting for the guy because of his winning personality and humble nature. There were many times last season where the Leafs lost games that they had no business losing, thanks to subpar goaltending.
Sure, Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov come with their question marks and their baggage from their previous teams, but a better defensive situation in front of them should go a long way in allowing both goaltenders to find success with this Leafs team. They've both shown in the past just how good they can be with a good team in front of them - especially Murray. So I absolutely have to agree with Raycroft here.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 6 | 1107 ANSWERS Former Leafs goaltender says the Leafs have improved substantially by going from Campbell to Murray Who would you rather have in net this season? | ||
| Matt Murray | 906 | 81.8 % |
| Jack Campbell | 201 | 18.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
