Matt Murray feels "great," returns to Leafs practice for first time since injury

Nov 9 2022, 8:53 pm

It’s safe to say goaltender Matt Murray hasn’t gotten off to the start he would’ve liked with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After just his first start of the season, Murray left the Leafs’ practice on October 15 with “groin discomfort” and has been sidelined since.

On Wednesday, though, Murray returned for his first practice in nearly a month, and said he “felt great.”

“It’s improved each day for sure,” Murray told reporters Wednesday. “I was disappointed at first for sure. It’s an injury I’ve never had before, kind of came out of nowhere. So it was definitely pretty disappointing and a little bit frustrating.”

Toronto has done okay in his absence, as they currently sit 7-4-3, good enough for third place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Bruins and a surprisingly hot Detroit Red Wings squad.

But for Leafs fans expecting Murray to be their number one goaltender, the injury less than a week into his Toronto career wasn’t exactly the most promising sign.

In his two seasons in Ottawa, Murray suited up for just 47 games while dealing with a myriad of injuries.

And while he knew what people would be saying about him coupled with the frustration of being off the ice, Murray implied it wasn’t worth his time or effort to sit around and sulk.

“I tried not to sit with those emotions for too long, that can be pretty useless,” Murray added about his feelings the day of the injury. “So I just turned my energy and my focus to the rehab, and the rehab’s gone incredibly well.”

Murray added he wasn’t ready to put a timeline on his return.

Murray’s salary is $7 million and his cap hit is $6 million for the 2022-23 season, though Toronto is paying $4.6 million of that money to him while Ottawa is covering the rest.

The absence of Murray injury was doubled by the injury to Ilya Samsonov suffered over the weekend against Boston, who is currently week-to-week with a knee injury.

Toronto has had to get creative in net, promoting Erik Källgren to the starting role while signing Keith Petruzzelli from the Toronto Marlies as the team’s pseudo-backup, though he’s yet to get into a game.

The Leafs are next in action on Friday night, when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at home at 7 pm ET.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

+ Offside
+ Hockey
+ Maple Leafs
ADVERTISEMENT