NHL Insider reveals the hold-up in the Matt Murray to Toronto deal; it could actually benefit the Leafs even more

We do know that Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe have a history with Murray from their days in the OHL with the Soo Greyhounds, and with the rumours of talks intensifying between the two Atlantic Division clubs yesterday, it seems like only a matter of time before it gets done.

Per Elliotte Friedman, by way of SensBuzz on Twitter, the main hold up in the Leafs/Sens deal for Matt Murray is that originally it was thought that if the Sens couldn't find a deal that they liked for Murray, they'd simply buy him out and save about $5M over the course of the buyout. The problem is that the buyout window closes on Tuesday and Murray has not been cleared to play, which means he is not eligible for a buyout.

Another detail that came out from the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch on Sunday confirmed that the Leafs and Sens almost completed the deal for Murray on the draft floor on Thursday, but since Murray was still injured, the Leafs wanted to do their due diligence and have a bit of a medical probe done to make sure Murray is actually capable of playing this season for the Buds. The thought process is that a deal is in place pending the results of a medical.

If the deal does go through, I wouldn't be surprised to see a third team involved for some additional retention beyond what Ottawa is willing to retain. There was some chatter that Arizona might be involved in this deal somehow, but that talk appears purely speculative at this point.

If the Leafs do end up landing Murray, this might be the first time that a team bringing in a two-time Stanley Cup winner is viewed as a "bad move", as there are many around Leafs Nation who are essentially begging Kyle Dubas not to bet on Murray, labeling him as damaged goods.