Why Matt Murray was the right target for the Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a decent off-season, in my opinion. One of their big off-season moves was acquiring two-time Stanley Cup Champion Matt Murray from the Ottawa Senators.
This trade left Leafs fans puzzled, as they wondered what General Manager Kyle Dubas was doing going after an oft-injured goaltender who hasn't been himself in several seasons. However, it is worth noting that Dubas and Sheldon Keefe are no strangers to Murray, as they were all together during their time with the Sault Sainte Marie Greyhounds.
Murray has struggled the last few seasons, and it's understandable to have some concern, given his stats and injury record, but there's no denying when he's healthy, he is on his game. Murray grew up a Leafs fan and admitted he wanted to play for the Leafs. It's a rare thing to hear, a goaltender actually wanting to play under the microscope in Toronto. The Leafs have a die-hard fan base and since we have long demanded a goaltender who has experienced success when it matters, we should be excited for Murray. His recent struggles shouldn't define him. His two Cup rings should speak volumes about his abilities.
During Murray's 246-game NHL career, his record is 132 wins, 78 losses, and 22 overtime losses with a 2.77 GAA and .911 save percentage. In addition, Murray is also 2-0 in Game 7s, which should give fans some hope for playoff success after a long history of none.
Toronto is the best place for Murray to bounce back, as he has a coach and GM who believe in him and a top-end defensive team in front of him and from the Leafs' perspective, if they had gone after any other Cup-winning goaltender, the asking price would have likely been enormous and likely prohibitive. However, not only did the Buds bring in Murray, but they didn't give up anything to get him. In fact, they were paid to take him, with Ottawa throwing in a pair of draft picks and retaining 25% of his salary as a sweetener.
Is Murray a bit of a gamble? Sure. But aren't most goalies? In the salary cap era, less than a handful of teams have won with a goaltender that they didn't develop in house, so while the Leafs work on developing someone in house, why can't Murray be the guy? Not only is he playing with a better team - one he grew up cheering for with his late father - but he's got a skilled number two in Ilya Samsonov who will push him for starts. That sort of healthy competition tends to bring out the best in a competitive goaltender.
Health is the number one concern with Murray. When healthy, he tends to play very well. When he's dealing with something, whether it be mental or physical, he tends to look off, which is largely what we saw during his time in Ottawa. Recently, Murray has been spotted looking a lot healthier and a lot happier. In addition, the Sens allowed the Leafs to do their own full medical exam on Murray before pulling the trigger on a deal. All indicators are that the examination went well and that the Leafs' doctors gave Murray a clean bill of health and green lit the move for Kyle Dubas.
All of these things and some additional factors, such as the fact that he has a lot of doubters to prove wrong, should help propel Murray to his best season since he left Pittsburgh. I firmly believe he was the right target. I just hope he proves me and the rest of his supporters right.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 2 | 507 ANSWERS Why Matt Murray was the right target for the Maple Leafs Was Matt Murray the right choice for the Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 235 | 46.4 % |
| No | 154 | 30.4 % |
| No, but Samsonov was! | 69 | 13.6 % |
| Should have gone after Gibson | 49 | 9.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
