Leafs trade Matt Murray to Mary on conditional loan

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In an encouraging and very interesting roster move on Saturday, the Maple Leafs placed goaltender Matt Murray on long-term injured reserve loan with the Marlies farm team.

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Although Murray barely made the playoffs, he returned from bilateral hip surgery and was an active participant in recent Leaf practices. Murray was expected to play the Marlies on Saturday night in Syracuse.

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“The way he did things was incredible,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Saturday morning. “His (comeback) was very much on the periphery. You see him work every day, and since he's often alone and at odd hours with a lot of people around, you get a good idea of ​​how far he's come and his mindset. Get back on the grid this season.”

Murray, who suffered a loss of flexibility in his first season and sat out the 2022-23 season, underwent surgery at the end of the summer. He freed up $6.25 million and assigned Ilya Samsonov, Joseph Wall and newly signed Martin Jones as three goaltenders.

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Toronto has used them all this season, and just one look at the Vegas Golden Knights, who went through several goaltenders before Adin Hill emerged for the Stanley Cup champions last year, shows that the best-laid plans on the line could be derailed.

“There's no shortage of these cases,” Keefe said. “Depth is important, that's why we kept Jones here (when Toronto's other depth goaltenders were lost on waivers). You never know as time goes on, but that's far from our current focus.”

The Marlies have three regular season games in the upcoming week of AHL play.
Murray is an unrestricted addition to the Leafs' roster for the playoffs.

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