No 2: Matt Murray
He’s currently under contract with the Leafs for the 2023-24 season, scheduled to make $4.8M, but I wouldn’t say he’s guaranteed to be in the line-up.
The main reason why the Leafs brought Murray in was for his previous playoff experience, so if he can’t perform when the team needs him the most, he may be on his way out the door.
When the Leafs originally acquired Murray, we all knew that his injury history was a concern and that’s lingered with Toronto. He’s only started 21 games and has became the team’s No. 2 option behind Ilya Samsonov.
Samsonov is a pending RFA, so if Samsonov excels as the Leafs starting goalie for a long playoff-run, Murray could become expendable. In a perfect world, Murray plays well in the playoffs and keeps his job for next year because of cost certainty.
The team would love a goalie tandem of Murray and Joseph Woll at $5.56M ($4.8M + 766K), but if Murray can’t be that player, they’ll have to pay Samsonov or look elsewhere.
Murray will have to show the team a lot during his last few regular season starts, but it’s the playoffs where we’ll determine whether or not he’s part of the future of his franchise.