Why the Leafs went after Matt Murray; he ranks among the top 7 playoff goaltenders in the last 2 decades
Matt Murray burst onto the scene during the 2015/16 season, particularly in the playoffs where he took over the starting role from Marc-Andre Fleury and guided the Pittsburgh Penguins to their first Stanley Cup since 2009. The following season he helped guide the Penguins to a second straight Stanley Cup, making them the first team to win back-to-back in the salary cap era.
Murray continued to get better and better, until the 2019-2020 season where he posted his first save percentage under .900. Since then, however, Murray has struggled to find his game. He showed glimpses of what he can do last season, but the Senators being the Senators, a strong season for Murray quickly went south after two blowout losses with a Sens player colliding with his own goaltender, putting Murray on the shelf for the remainder of the season.
While his regular seasons haven't been anything to write home about lately, Murray has been one of the best goaltenders in the playoffs over the past two decades and that is what the Leafs are banking on. With a minimum of 50 playoff games played since the 2004 season, Murray ranks 7th in save percentage at .921 while posting 29-21-0 record over 51 games. During that time frame he also posted a goals against average of 2.18 and 6 shutouts.
The Leafs are basically a lock to make the playoffs, but it's once they get there that they have had issues. They never seemed to get that timely save over recent years, but that is something Murray will be able to provide. You have to make those saves on your way to winning back-to-back cups.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 7 | 306 ANSWERS Why the Leafs went after Matt Murray; he ranks among the top 7 playoff goaltenders in the last 2 decades Do you agree with the Leafs' decision to trade for Matt Murray? | ||
| Yes | 98 | 32 % |
| No | 99 | 32.4 % |
| Not sure yet | 109 | 35.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
