Leafs reportedly almost landed Matt Murray at the draft; here's why it didn't go down at the time
Leafs Nation has been buzzing for most of the day on Sunday after the announcement came from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman that the Leafs and Sens were engaged in intensifying talks over goaltender and two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray. Well, per the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch, the deal almost happened much sooner, as the two sides had a deal on the table at the draft.
Apparently the hold up in getting the trade done, according to Garrioch, was that the Leafs didn't want to rush a deal before getting a good look at Murray's medical reports. Murray had suffered a concussion at the end of the season that also prevented him from taking part in the IIHF World Championship tournament back in May.
So, is that why the Leafs and Sens do not still currently have a deal worked out? Well, not necessarily. According to Sens GM Pierre Dorion, he has spotted Murray at the team's facilities on a number of occasions and that all indications are that Murray is completely fine.
-Sens GM Pierre Dorion on the status of Matt Murray
The hold-up at this time figures to be a negotiation on what the sweetener would be to entice the Leafs to take Murray's contract off their hands to prevent them from having to buy him out, which would result in the Sens having to pay Murray $7.5M split over the next 4 years instead of paying less to be rid of any cap commitments in 2. If that's not the case, then the hold up could be focused around the percentage of Murray's cap hit that the Sens are willing to cover.
Either way, Garrioch has labeled the Leafs as the "frontrunners" for Murray's services and it's beginning to feel like it's not a matter of if a deal gets done, it's when and also what the terms are.
