Leafs goaltender may be as good as gone in as little as 48 hours
With the Vegas Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, the NHL season has come to an end and ushers in the off-season with the first monumental event being the buy-out window. It is set to open on the 15th of June and will last until June 30th.
The salary cap has been raised by a million dollars from $82.5 million to $83.5. As of right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs have $9.143 million which can change once Jake Muzzin is placed on the LTIR and depending on how they act on Matt Murray's final year.
With one year remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $4.687 million, the Leafs will look to move on from the 2-time Stanley Cup champion - whether that be through a trade or a buy-out. Trading the contract is very possible but they will likely have to fork over a draft pick, which they don't necessarily have the luxury of doing at the moment. The Leafs own Boston's first round pick, a 5th, and a 6th round pick in 2023. They are missing a 2nd and a 3rd round pick in 2024 and are without a 1st, 2nd, and 4th round pick in 2025, as well as a 2nd in 2026.
According to CapFriendly, a Matt Murray buy-out will accrue a cap hit of $687,500 in 2023-24 and $2 million in 2024-25. The low cap hit makes a buy-out that much more plausible than trying to seek out a trade, especially since the salary cap is supposed to rise exponentially in 2024-25 - mitigating the $2 million cap hit a little.
Murray's first season in Toronto didn't go as planned as he suffered through several injuries and bouts of inconsistencies. After getting injured in the very first game of the season, he missed about a month but came back on fire, sporting an 8-1-2 record with a .932 SV% and only allowing 24 goals in 11 games.
Murray then went 3-3-0 in his next 7 games with a .884 SV% and allowed 22 goals in that span before succumbing to another injury. He finished the season going 3-3-0 once more with a .880 SV%, with 24 goals against in that span, which included 5 consecutive games where he allowed 4 or more goals.
He lost his spot in the starting lineup with Ilya Samsonov having a much better season, he even lost the backup role in the playoffs with Joseph Woll taking the reins as a rookie. Murray instantly became a prime candidate for a buy-out with the low cap hits - especially this summer. Although, looking ahead, that $2 million charge could come into play when trying to re-sign Auston Matthews and/or William Nylander.
The NHL had previously projected an $88 million salary cap for 2024-25, which softens the blow just a little bit. Nevertheless, Murray has most likely played his final game as a Toronto Maple Leaf with the experiment outright failing. However, it did make way for Samsonov and Woll to flex their muscle and team up as a formidable duo.
| POLL | ||
14 JUIN | 1665 ANSWERS Leafs goaltender may be as good as gone in as little as 48 hours Will the Leafs buy out Matt Murray this week when the buyout window opens? | ||
| Yes | 1232 | 74 % |
| No | 121 | 7.3 % |
| They'll trade him instead | 312 | 18.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
