Murray has been out since the beginning of the season after undergoing bilateral hip surgery.
Could Matt Murray return to the Maple Leafs' crease this season?
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving stepped in front of reporters on Tuesday in Los Angeles, California, to give an update on Ilya Samsonov after the team placed the goaltender on waivers Sunday.
Following numerous questions about the 26-year-old, Treliving provided an update on Murray, who's expected to miss a minimum of six to eight months after having hip surgery in early October.
"He’s doing well. It’s a significant rehab but there’s been no setbacks. He’s attacked it full steam," Treliving said.
"He’s up to the stage where I think actually — I shouldn’t say this because I probably might be wrong — but I think not goaltender skated but did a public skate where he throws a sweatsuit on and kind of wanders around the ice a little bit.
"So that’s good progression. He’s got a ways to go but everything’s been really really positive in terms of no setbacks. He's been on track and things are going well."
The minimum recovery time for Murray, of six months, would take us to April, which is still the regular season for Toronto. That means it's always a possibility that the netminder steps into a game.
Treliving, though, said the Maple Leafs are electing to take the cautious approach with Murray.
"We want to be careful with it," he said. "There’s no pressure to get him going. We just want to make sure he goes about it and when he’s ready, he’s ready. That’s off in the horizon"
Murray is in the final year of a four-year, $25 million deal he signed with the Ottawa Senators in Oct. 2020. When Toronto traded for the 29-year-old, Ottawa retained 25 percent of his salary, making his cap hit with the Maple Leafs $4.6875 million.
In 26 games with the Maple Leafs last season, Murray had a 14-8-2 record, a 3.01 goals-against average, and a .903 save percentage.
Related
News from THN.com