It seems incredibly unlikely that Kyle Dubas wouldn’t learn from his mistakes, but according to Nick Kypreos of The Toronto Star, the former Toronto Maple Leafs GM is potentially prepared to go round two with Matt Murray. Kypreos then wonders if Dubas is open to bringing the often-injured goaltender to Pittsburgh now that he is the new President and GM of the Penguins.
In a recent article, Kypreos wrote:
Leafs are trying really hard to sign pending unrestricted free agents Luke Schenn and Noel Acciari. As of now they don’t appear to have the wiggle room to get to $2 million (U.S.) or beyond like other teams can … Prior to Dubas’s departure there was a strong sense he was planning on having goalie Matt Murray return to Toronto for his final year. Could that prior interest set up a trade between Dubas’s Penguins and Treliving’s Leafs?
source – ‘The best thing for Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe might have been watching friend-boss Kyle Dubas walk out door’ – Nick Kypreos – Toronto Star – 06/22/2023
Kypreos doesn’t get into what the details of the trade would look like, but the assumption here is that this would be a total dump by the Maple Leafs for futures or an expiring contract, possibly even sending a sweetener to the Penguins to get out from under the $8 million salary owed to the netminder.
Why Would the Penguins Do This?
If Kypreos is correct and Dubas was thinking about running it back one more year with Murray in the fold in Toronto, it seems to indicate one of two things: there is either still a belief by the NHL executive that Murray has something left to offer or Dubas wants to strike a deal to take on Murray’s contract.
Many believed if a trade was possible, it would be to a team that had tons of cap space and didn’t see themselves as competitive. That’s not the Penguins, who as an organization, have a small window to win with the older players they have on their roster. There are also major questions in goal for that franchise and if Murray is coming in, maybe Dubas believes he can help.
Murray’s best years were as a member of the Penguins. During the 2015-2016 season, the Penguins’ starting goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, suffered a concussion, opening the door for Murray to start. He quickly made an impact, leading the Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory that season. His impressive performance included a stellar .923 save percentage and a 2.08 goals-against average in the playoffs. At just 21 years old, Murray became the youngest goaltender to win the Stanley Cup.
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He continued to be a fantastic netminder in the following season, as he helped guide the Penguins to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship in 2016-2017. However, Murray ran into trouble in subsequent seasons, battling injuries and inconsistent performances that would plague him every year since. He was eventually moved to the Ottawa Senators.
If the Maple Leafs Can Do This, They Should
As odd as it might be for the Leafs to trade a player to a club where their former GM is now running the show, any move that would successfully send Murray off of this roster is probably a good one. The Leafs could buy him out and the cost wouldn’t be an albatross on the roster, but having a dead cap hit of $2 million in 2024/2025 should be avoided if at all possible.
Depending on the cost associated with striking this deal — if the Penguins are actually interested — Toronto might want to consider it as long as it falls short of having to give up a really high draft pick to make the move. There comes a point where you can’t give away the farm to move Murray, and if Dubas is asking the Leafs to do so, Treliving might have to hold off.
It’s hard to know how much stock to place in Kypreos’ question about the Penguins and Murray. There could be nothing to this at all and the NHL analyst is just spitballing ideas in the hopes that something sticks. But, if there’s anything to this, the Leafs should certainly be open to having the conversation.
