The Toronto Maple Leafs Knew Matt Murray's Fate All Along

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James Connelly
August 1, 2023 (11:43)

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The Leafs knew what their plan for Matt Murray was the entire time.

Leafs Placed Murray on LTIR

Just earlier this week the Toronto Maple Leafs placed Matt Murray on the LTIR.

This did not surprise anybody as Murray had not played in a game since April 2nd.

The Leafs Knew All Along

With Murray's injuries being apparent, fans were wondering why the Leafs did not place him on the LTIR earlier.

James Mirtle of The Athletic wrote how he felt the Leafs knew Murray was going on the LTIR all along.

"Basically, Murray is now in a Jake Muzzin situation, where the remainder of his career is in doubt. As far as I could tell talking to other teams, the Leafs didn't make an aggressive push to try and trade the Murray contract." - James Mirtle

Mirtle also cites how there have been cases of players with fewer injuries being placed on the LTIR.

If the Maple Leafs knew that Murray would go on the LTIR all along, why did they wait so long to do so? Maybe they were looking to include him in a larger trade or they were just waiting to see if anybody would be willing to pay assets to get Murray.

As seen on The Hockey Writers - NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Oilers

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Will the Leafs do better without Murray?
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No	176	12.3 %
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