The Sky Is Not Falling on the Maple Leafs

Although the situation wasn’t perfect, the Maple Leafs survived. In fact, the team also went on to set a franchise record in the regular season by winning 54 games and acquiring 115 points. 

The odds are pretty good that the team will survive Murray’s injury. They have Ilya Samsonov, who won 65 percent of the games he started last season, They also have Erik Kallgren as their backup. He won 70 percent of the games he started for the Maple Leafs last season. 

Trading for Murray Was Always a Gamble

Acquiring Murray was always going to be a gamble. He has a long history of injuries. Even in the two seasons in which he won Stanley Cups, he had injury problems. That said, when Murray is healthy he is a top NHL goalie.  

Last season with the Ottawa Senators, a season which was labeled a failure for him, Murray put together a streak where he went seven games straight without a regulation loss and posted a .944 save percentage and a 1.82 goals-against-average. 

From January 13, after returning from an injury to February 15 when he was injured again, in ten games played, Murray posted a .942 percent save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against-average. 

Kyle Dubas Knew What He Was Doing When He Brought Murray to Toronto

Given how fastidious the organization is with decisions about salary-cap monies and limits, there would be no way that conversations about Murray’s injury history would not have surfaced and have been a topic of discussion. You can bet that Assistant General Manager Brandon Pridham, the Maple Leafs’ salary-cap guru, would have weighed in on the conversation. Right or wrong, this organization would not make such a move without doing its due diligence.

When Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas acquired Murray, we have to believe Dubas considered two possibilities for how Murray’s season would play out. First, he probably hoped and believed Murray would be healthy and play well. Second, he might also have considered that, given Murray’s history, he might be injured at some time during the season. If, and when that might occur, the team would deal with that possibility.

If it were the latter, then moving Murray to the LTIR would give the Maple Leafs about $4.7 million in additional cap space to find another goalie at the trade deadline. Meanwhile, Dubas had other goalies in Ilya Samsonov, Erik Kallgren, and even Joseph Woll (when he returns from shoulder surgery), who could play well enough to get the Maple Leafs into the playoffs. 

For Now, the Maple Leafs’ Job Is to Win Games

For now, all the Maple Leafs, Dubas, and head coach Sheldon Keefe have to do is take care of the business in front of them. They’ll worry about the Arizona Coyotes tonight and then the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.  

It’s time for Samsonov to have his third winning game in a row tonight.

[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]