After just two starts, the Toronto Maple Leafs have decided to send Matt Murray back to the Toronto Marlies.
The Toronto Maple Leafs only play one back-to-back game between now and the Four Nations Face-Off, so maybe they just wanted Matt Murray to play more, but it's still disappointing that he's been sent down in exchange of Dennis Hildeby.
It's not that I dislike the Hildeby, but I'm obviously a sucker for a good story, and there hasn't been a better one than Murray's this year. After battling through on-ice and off-ice struggles, Murray eventually crawled his way back to the NHL and got his first win in two years against the Buffalo Sabres on December 20.
It wasn't the best performance of his life, but it was a valliant 24-save performance, which was more than enough for the 6-3 road victory. Murray's next start was a little worse, allowing four goals on 31 shots, but he was particularly out-goalied by his counterpart Logan Thompson that evening.
Since the Leafs barely play any back-to-back's for the next month, Joseph Woll will be called upon for the majority of the starts, which scares me. His stats have been solid all season (2.57 GAA, .909 SV%) but we're almost already approaching his career high in starts, and it's only January.
Murray Sent Down: Hildeby Called Up
Woll has only started 15 games this year, but his career-high is 23. I know he's going to have to eventually smash that number if he wants to be a legitimate no. 1 goaltender in this league, but I'd rather see him slowly get past that, instead of hammering that number this year.
There are roughly 20 games from now until Anthony Stolarz is expected back in the line-up and with only one back-to-back, so I wouldn't be shocked if Woll starts 90 percent of the games. There is a big break for the Four Nations Face-Off, so you can have the luxury of shutting him down for two weeks to rest, but I still think that's way too many games for Woll, when the Leafs seem locked into a playoff spot, once again.
Recalling Hildeby is probably the safer move as he's played a lot more hockey than Matt Murray over the past year, but I really wish we would have been able to continue to see what Murray could bring for the next few weeks. Unless there's another goaltender injury, I wouldn't expect to see Murray play another game with the Leafs this year, which is sad.
Although it was a short-lived return, it's still one of the best stories of the year and I hope Murray gets another full-time opportunity at the NHL-level next year.