Matt Murray of the Toronto Maple Leafs suffers from an ankle injury
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray is currently suffering from an ankle injury, according to NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy.
Murray was suspected of suffering some sort of injury after he didn’t start Friday night against the Ottawa Senators when he was supposed to. It’s unclear when this happened, but Ilya Samsonov ended up starting the game for the Maple Leafs. Toronto would go on to lose that game 6-2, with Samsonov allowing six goals on 34 shots.
Murray is expected to undergo more tests today to see how serious the injury is.
Murray has had a few injuries this season, but that hasn’t stopped him from having a solid season in Toronto. He’s currently 11-5-2 with a .911 save percentage and 3.24 goals saved above expectations, far from amazing but certainly an improvement over his previous two seasons.
A replacement for Samsonov has not been named at this time following the Leafs’ game against the Washington Capitals on Sunday, and no roster changes have been made in response to the injury. Erik Kallgren was called up the last time the Leafs were injured with Samsonov and Murray, and was 3-2-4 with an .892 save percentage and -0.51 goals saved above expectations in 10 matches.
Joseph Woll could also be called up given his recent play in the AHL, as he is 12-1-0 and has a .928 save percentage with the Toronto Marlies. He played four NHL games in 2021-22 with the Leafs, where he was 3-1-0 with a .911 save percentage.
Murray was a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012 and spent five seasons with the Pens and two with the Senators before being dealt to the Leafs with a third- and seventh-round pick for future consideration.
Murray is currently in the third year of a four-year deal with a $6.25 million deal he signed with the Senators, though his cap is only $4.6875 million with the Senators. Leafs since 25% of his salary was withheld in the trade.
The injury bug seems to be hitting the Leafs right now, as Murray joins Auston Matthews and TJ Brodie on the list of recent short-term injuries. Along with that, Victor Mete is currently on the long-term injured list, and Jake Muzzin and Nick Robertson are likely out for the season.
The Leafs are currently second in the Atlantic Division with a 30-12-8 record. Despite the success, they are 12 points out of first place due to the incredible start the Boston Bruins had, and the Leafs look destined to have a first-round rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
