Saying the Leafs goaltending situation is the priority for this week is becoming as tired as saying “goaltending is voodoo” and hopefully by the end of the week we can retire both of these statements.
That said, here’s the latest development:

Word is that OTT/TOR have intensified discussions around Matt Murray. We will see how things play out, but those conversations continue.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 10, 2022

After Marc-Andre Fleury and Ville Husso left the free agent market and teams began to panic about what options would be available for goaltenders this year, it seems the Leafs are doubling back on a goaltender that both Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe know fairly well in Matt Murray. For good or bad the Soo connection means something and it has served them well in the past.
Now looking at Murray’s actual performance, health, and the contract is where things start becoming more puzzling when talking about Murray. Matt Murray was limited to just 20 games last season. The previous year saw him play 27 games in a shortened season, and he played just 37 games in the slightly shortened season the year before that. During those three years, his save percentage was .899, .893, and .906. None of that says, “let’s bring in a guy with $6.25M AAV for two more years.”
Season
Team
GP
TOI
GA
SA
FA
xGA
Sv%
FSv%
xFSv%
dFSv%
GSAA
GSAx
18-19
PIT
50
2880.23
131.27
1569
2138.65
131.19
91.63
93.86
93.87
0
10.17
-0.08
19-20
PIT
38
2237.5
105.92
1055.02
1416.54
91.94
89.96
92.52
93.51
-0.99
-10.59
-13.98
20-21
…

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation