Two-time Stanley Cup champion trying to get career back on track with Kraken

The Kraken have signed goaltender Matt Murray to a one-year, $1M contract, per a team announcement.

This move will stand as a bode of confidence in Murray, as he works his way back to a full-time role after undergoing bilateral hip surgery in 2023. Murray missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season and all but two games of the 2024-25 season as a result of the injury. Murray’s last extended action came in the 2022-23 season, when he appeared in 26 games as Toronto’s backup to Ilya Samsonov. Murray recorded a .903 save percentage and 14-8-2 record in those appearances.

When thinking of Murray, it’s hard not to think of his incredible run to the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2016. With only 13 regular-season games under his belt, Murray was able to usurp future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury as the starting netminder for the team’s 2016 postseason. With that confidence to boost him, the rookie Murray managed an incredible .923 save percentage and 15-6-0 record for the Penguins, helping propel the team to a Stanley Cup win. He earned the Penguins' backup role full-time in the wake of that win and supported the team with an improved .937 save percentage in 11 games during their 2017 Cup win as well.

For the most part, Murray’s hot hand in Pittsburgh carried over to the regular season. He managed a collective .914 Sv% and 117-53-19 record in 199 games with the Penguins. He also totaled a .921 save percentage in 51 playoff games — a team record among goalies to appear in multiple postseason runs. But on the back of faltering play in 2019, the Penguins traded Murray to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Jonathan Gruden and the 2020 second-round pick used on goaltender Joel Blomqvist. Murray fell to Ottawa’s backup chair, behind Anton Forsberg, by the 2021-22 season, and fell into his rut of injuries soon after.

Now, Seattle will look to revive Murray’s career in a backup role behind starter Joey Daccord. Murray posted one win, one loss, and one relief loss over the course of three games with Toronto this season. Next season will be his first true test at a comeback, and an early summer deal will provide a full summer of motivated fitness training.