Maple Leafs' Murray out at least 4 weeks with adductor injury
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray will miss at least four weeks with an adductor injury and has been placed on long-term injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.
Murray suffered the ailment during Saturday's morning skate.
Some video on the situation pic.twitter.com/8sjpQ2H38r
— David Alter (@dalter) October 15, 2022
Putting Murray on LTIR frees Toronto of the goalie's $4.69-million cap hit for the time being. The Leafs only had 18 skaters on the roster due to the salary cap, so the move will allow them to carry some extra bodies.
Murray was set to start Saturday against his former team, the Ottawa Senators. Ilya Samsonov gets the nod instead, with Erik Kallgren backing up after being recalled from the AHL.
The Sens traded Murray and a third-round pick to the Leafs in July in exchange for a seventh-round pick and future considerations after injuries and inconsistent play hampered Murray's two-year tenure in Ottawa.
However, Toronto acquired Murray in part because of his past relationship with team general manager Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe, who both had him in junior with the OHL's Soo Greyhounds. A two-time Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, Murray struggled in his Leafs debut against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, allowing four goals on 23 shots in a loss.
Samsonov, also a new addition for Toronto, turned in a solid debut on Thursday, stopping 24 of 26 shots in a win against his former Washington Capitals. Toronto signed Samsonov, a 2015 first-round pick, as a free agent after the Caps failed to issue a qualifying offer.
Kallgren, meanwhile, went 8-4-1 with a 3.31 goals-against average and .888 save percentage in his rookie campaign with the Leafs a year ago.