Matt Murray's frequent absences from the lineup have prompted speculation that the Toronto Maple Leafs could try to trade him or buy him out this summer.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Matt Murray last summer from the Ottawa Senators, hoping that he could address their need for a reliable starting goaltender. However, the oft-injured 28-year-old netminder's frequent absences from the lineup have sparked speculation that he could be changing teams again following this season.
During an April 4 mailbag segment, Sportsnet's Luke Fox was asked if the Leafs would move on from Murray in favor of an Ilya Samsonov-Joseph Woll tandem for 2023-24. He felt they could, but it would depend on how their goalies perform in the upcoming post-season.
Fox also pointed out the Leafs are willing to pay to correct a mistake. They gave up a first-round pick before last year's draft to have the Chicago Blackhawks take Petr Mrazek off their hands.
CapFriendly indicates Murray's full annual average value is $6.25 million through 2023-24. However, the Leafs are only carrying $4.687 million, with the Senators retaining the rest.
Fox suggested the Leafs could trade Murray to a team looking to reach next season's cap floor. Failing that, they could also buy him out at a reasonable cap hit, noting it would be $687,500 for 2023-24 and $2 million in 2024-25, when the salary cap is expected to spike.
Murray could be enticing to rebuilding clubs seeking to keep their cap payrolls low for next season. However, the Leafs might have to package Murray with a pick from the earlier rounds of the 2023 draft to make it work. They own the Boston Bruins' first-rounder but lack selections in the second, third and fourth rounds.
A buyout might be the easiest route. However, that's possible as long as Murray has cleared his end-of-season physical before the two-week buyout window opens in mid-June.