This may sound crazy, but Toronto Maple Leafs fans should hope that Matt Murray becomes the team's number-one goalie by year's end.
Matt Murray is coming off double-hip surgery, but the Toronto Maple Leafs took a chance by signing him to a one-year deal worth $875K. It's expected that Murray will be the starter for the Toronto Marlies and be the team's third-string goalie when the regular season starts, but when the season ends, we should hope that he's the guy for the playoff-run.
I know that sounds crazy because Murray hasn't shown anything in the past few years that he's ready to be a number-one goalie again, but of the three options, he's the most experienced. Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz are expected to be the 1A/1B goalies for the Leafs this year, but neither goalie is as experinced as Murray, and both haven't proved they can play a full season.
Murray's had his up's and down's, mostly due to health since 2019, but at least he's proved it. As a two-time Stanley Cup champion, Murray has climbed the mountain top and has also represented his country at the international level, winning a silver medal at the 2019 IIHF World Championship's.
Matt Murray is Looking For a Huge Bounceback Year
It's quite possible that everything came too fast for Murray, but he still has a lot of hockey left in his career. At 30-years-old, Murray accomplished more in his first two seasons than most goalies do in their entire career, so it's possible that his trajectory happened too fast. When everything goes easy and you don't face much adversity early in your career, it's easy to sit back and assume that everything will go perfectly, but that's unfortunately not been the path for Murray.
Most goaltenders spend a number of years in the AHL, followed by a few years as a back-up before being named the starter, but Murray took over future Hall-of-Fame goalie Marc-Andre Fleury as the starter and helped the Pittsburgh Penguins immediately, so all of that quick success, in my opinion, is definitely a reason why he hasn't been successful, as of late.
Combine that with health issues and personal struggles and it's easy to see why Murray is all of a sudden on a one-year deal, most likely starting in the AHL this year.
However, if everything goes to plan, the best case scenario for the Leafs would be for Murray to be the team's starter by year's end. If he's the starter, it would mean that the surgery worked and he's back to form. Woll has had some solid playoff starts, but he hasn't gone the distance, while Stolarz may be a Stanley Cup champion as well, but he never played a game.
If Murray is the starter, it would give the Leafs a legitimate goalie, with an incredible resume, who's back and ready to prove the world that he deserves another contract. He's currently on a "prove-it" deal as per an interview on the "Slangin' the Bizkit Podcast," so if he can show the NHL that he's a starter again, it would revitalize his career and strengthen his bank account.
We'll see what happens in training camp, but I really hope he makes it a competition and has a chance at starting this year with the Leafs as he clearly loves the city and wants to win here.