The Toronto Maple Leafs will likely be without Matt Murray for the entire 2023-24 season after the veteran goaltender underwent successful hip surgery on Monday.
“The [Maple Leafs] announced today that goaltender Matt Murray underwent successful bilateral hip surgery,” the team shared. “He is expected to miss a minimum of 6-8 months.”
Murray has struggled mightily to stay healthy over the past few seasons. He went 14-8-2 with a .903 save percentage and 3.01 goals-against average in his first season in Toronto in 2022-23 after coming over from the Ottawa Senators in a trade that sent future considerations to Canada's national capital.
He has one more year remaining on a contract that will pay him $4.69 million this season. The Sens have retained an additional $1.56 million of the deal.
The 29-year-old will be placed on LTIR and probably will not play another game in Toronto once the deal ends. Although it's been a difficult stretch for the Thunder Bay, ON native, he still has won two Stanley Cups, both with the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2016 and 2017.
He signed a four-year, $35 million contract in the summer of 2020 with Ottawa, with the expectation he would be their starting goalie. That never panned out, as the former third-round pick has been unable to stay healthy since.
Murray hasn't played more than 27 games in a season in four years; he has compiled a 146-86-24 record with a .910 save percentage and 2.79 goals-against average over his career.
Ilya Samsonov is set to shoulder a heavy load for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24 after he was awarded a one-year, $3.55 million contract in arbitration. It's likely that Toronto will have two all-new goaltenders in 2024-25.
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