Matt Murray assures fans that his hip surgery was not an LTIR stunt
Matt Murray revealed on Monday that he has been playing through hip issues for years and it was his decision to have surgery, not the Maple Leafs' call.
In September of last year, Murray underwent a double-hip surgery and spent the entire season on LTIR. He returned, to the surprise of many as he noted in his appearance on the 'Slangin' the Bizkit' podcast Monday, to play a few games for the Toronto Marlies where he posted 1-2-0 record with a 4.03 GAA and .846 save percentage.
"Most people didn't think I'd play in any games at all last year, and I was able to play a little bit at the end of the season on a conditioning stint. That was a big goal of mine, and we definitely had to push it but it felt nice to get it done and play a couple of games at the end of the year."
Murray also revealed that he has been dealing with hip issues for the past decade, yet somehow managed to win two Stanley Cups, but said that his hips haven't felt as good as they do now in quite some time.
"I've dealt with hip pain going back to as far as Wilkes-Barre when I was like 20 or 21. It just got to a point where it was starting to mess up everything else. I was starting to get low back issues, starting to pull my groin a lot, and starting to get a lot of ankle stuff... My hips haven't felt this good in a long, long time. That was the goal, and that was the hope of getting the surgery done. It's starting to pay off now. It's starting to feel really, really good."
It hasn't been easy for Murray since winning back-to-back Cups, dealing with injury after injury. When he was acquired by the Leafs during the summer of 2022, the hope was that he would be able to stay somewhat healthy. Unfortunately, he skated in just 26 games for the Leafs in 2022-23 going 14-8-2 and finished with sub-par peripherals as he slumped to a 3.01 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
Source: Hockey Reference
Matt Murray Stats
| POLL |
AOUT 12 | 887 ANSWERS Matt Murray assures fans that his hip surgery was not an LTIR stunt How many games will Murray play for the Leafs this year? |
| 5-10 | 459 | 51.7 % |
| 15-20 | 218 | 24.6 % |
| 25-30 | 69 | 7.8 % |
| Other | 141 | 15.9 % |
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