Matt Murray said he’s focused and has a lot to prove with the Toronto Maple Leafs after his time with the Ottawa Senators didn’t go as planned.
The 28-year-old goalie and two-time Stanley Cup winner for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 was traded to Toronto by Ottawa on Monday for future considerations. He was 15-25-3 with a 3.23 goals-against average, .899 save percentage and three shutouts in 47 games (45 starts) during two seasons with the Senators.
“I think coming here, this is a place where I’ve wanted to be,” Murray said Tuesday. “I have a familiarity with a lot of the folks there and they have an unbelievable support staff that I’m really going to lean on. It’s all about pushing myself to try to be the absolute best that I can be and I think Toronto is a great place to do it. A whole lot of excitement on my part.
“In my short time since it became official, I’ve had so many staff members reach out who are willing to help with literally every aspect of my move and really making things simple.”
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Murray was 5-12-2 with a 3.05 GAA, .906 save percentage and one shutout in 20 games for the Senators this season. He has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $25 million contract ($6.25 million average annual value) he signed with Ottawa on Oct. 9, 2020.
Toronto also received a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Ottawa will retain 25 percent of Murray’s salary as part of the trade.
“My time in Ottawa, I don’t think it went as anyone had expected,” Murray said. “But at this point in time I’m really just focusing on the present and the near future and right now that’s a busy one for me. Just getting my family and myself down to Toronto first and foremost, getting in and around the team and the facility and the guys as fast as I can and trying to get acquainted with everybody, so that’s kind of where my focus is right now.”
Murray was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, about 850 miles northwest of Toronto.
“It was definitely my favorite childhood team, it was my dad’s favorite team, we used to watch games together,” Murray said. “Just being able to put on that jersey for the first time is going to be really special to me as it is for a lot of people, especially for a young kid who grew up in Ontario.”
Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Sheldon Keefe know Murray well. Murray played for Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons when Dubas was GM of the junior team. Keefe coached Murray in Sault Ste. Marie beginning midway through the 2012-13 season until the end of 2013-14.
Jon Elkin, who works for the Maple Leafs in goaltender evaluation and development, runs a goalie school that Murray began attending, he said, around the age of 10.
“I know I’m thankful to have familiarity with those guys and I really look forward to working with all those guys again,” Murray said. “They know me from the past and I think they are a group that will really be able to help push me and help me maximize my potential.
“(Jon) knows me well, he knows my game well and knows how to push me. I think he can provide a lot of insights in all those regards.”
Murray was acquired by the Senators in a trade with the Penguins on Oct. 7, 2020. Last season he was 10-13-1 with an NHL career-worst 3.38 GAA and .893 save percentage in 27 games (25 starts). This season he started 0-5-0 with a 3.26 GAA and .890 save percentage before being placed on waivers Nov. 27 and assigned to Belleville of the American Hockey League the following day.
His play improved after he was recalled from Belleville, going 5-7-2 with a 2.96 GAA and .912 save percentage before an injury forced him to miss Ottawa’s final 29 games.
“We’re thankful for Matt’s contributions and wish him well,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said.
Selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (No. 83) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Murray is 132-78-22 with a 2.77 GAA, .911 save percentage and 14 shutouts in 246 games (238 starts) for the Penguins and Senators. He is 29-21 with a 2.18 GAA, .921 save percentage and six shutouts in 51 Stanley Cup Playoff games (50 starts).
In Toronto, Murray will be tasked with potentially filling a void left by Jack Campbellwho can become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, and Petr Mrazekwho was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on July 7, and helped the Maple Leafs win a playoff round for the first time since 2004.
“A huge thing that those Cup runs taught me is that it’s all about the day-to-day process,” Murray said. “The end result is exactly that, the end result of a continuous day-to-day endeavor, just applying yourself as much as you possibly can each and every day. That’s the approach I’ve always taken and that’s the approach that I intend to take once again to try to push myself.”
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