Matt Murray had one thing on his mind as free-agency approached this summer, re-sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Murray recently sat down with the Slangin’ the Bizkit podcast, and opened up about a number of things including why he didn’t want to leave the Maple Leafs this summer even though things haven’t necessarily worked out the past two seasons.
“This year is just about proving that I can stay healthy and that I got a nice little reset with the surgery. So proving that I stay healthy and still get the job done, that’s why I took a one-year deal. It’s kind of like a prove it deal to see what I can do, said Murray.
“And if I can do both of those things, stay healthy and prove that I can still get the job done, I would imagine maybe a couple opportunities pop up next year. I’m taking things one year at a time.”
After dressing in a Stanley Cup Playoff game to end the 2022-23 season, Murray didn’t see any NHL action in 2023-24 and managed to only appear in a few games in the American Hockey League. It was obvious he’s tuned into the business side of the NHL and understands he was a bit of a flight risk on the free-agent market.
Despite Murray only appearing in 26 games for the Maple Leafs over two seasons, Toronto was Murray’s hands down first choice, “I love everything about the city, other than the traffic. It’s a great city, I think it’s a top city in the world.”
“The group of guys in the room is unbelievable. The staff is unbelievable, the training staff, I know there’s a lot of turnover at times but, the training staff and that group of people tend to stay the same and they nailed it with the group that they have here.
The way that we’re treated here, the facilities are great, it’s close to home for me, which is obviously really nice. I could go on and on about why I like playing here. The Leafs definitely have a special in my heart. I’ve always loved coming here as the visiting team and I continue to love being here every time that I’m here.”
Murray signed a one-year, $875,000 contract and will have to battle it out with newcomer Anthony Stolarz and the recently re-signed Joseph Woll. The crease is crowded, there’s no doubt about it, however, if last season was any indication, Toronto will need to have three proven goaltenders to get through the regular season.
For the full interview which included Murray opening up about his double-hip surgery, Stuart Skinner, Carey Price and what his childhood Tim Horton’s order was, watch here:
