Maple Leafs' Matt Murray Out 6-8 Months After Successful Bilateral Hip Surgery
It was a long shot that Matt Murray would be an option in goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs at any point this season.
On Monday, the club announced that the oft-injured goaltender underwent successful bilateral hip surgery and will be out of action for 6-8 months.
According to the timeline, Murray would be unavailable to the Leafs until April 9th. The regular season ends for the club on April 17th. And that's the earliest timeline according to the estimate.
"He’s wanting to put the work in and I know this was a necessary thing for him and his career," Maple Leads head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Murray. "Matt is an incredibly hard worker and discipline guy so he’ll do what he can to be ready."
The Maple Leafs acquired Murray in the summer of 2022 from the Ottawa Senators and both he and Ilya Samsonov competed for the net during the 2022-23 regular season. Murray suffered adductor, head and other injuries in the season and Samsonov effectively took over the starting goaltender role, which he is expected to occupy to start this season.
There was speculation the Leafs would possibly buy out Murray this summer. The goaltender proclaimed he was healthy at the end of Toronto's 2023 Stanley Cup playoff run. Days after an arbitrator awarded Samsonov a one-year $3.55 million contract for the upcoming season, the Leafs announced their intent to put Murray on LTIR to start the year.
In his season-opening news conference, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving indicated that Murray was scheduled to have surgery but didn't indicate what that surgery would entail.
Murray's $4.6875 salary cap hit will be used in LTIR relief for this season. The goaltender will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native posted a 14-8-2 record with a .903 save percentage in 2022-23.
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