For a while, Matt Murray was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He became a Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins before he was legally old enough to rent a car in some places Toronto maple leaves land reclamation project, then a long period in which his name only came up when someone reported injuries. And then – quietly – he was gone.
Murray’s time in Toronto wasn’t much
Murray’s time with the Maple Leafs never really worked out. He came as a gamble: a goalkeeper with pedigree, scars and something left in the tank if his body cooperated. For Toronto, acquiring him was a low-risk move. For Murray, it was likely a last chance to prove he could still be a regular NHL goaltender.
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The problem, of course, was health, or rather, hips. Bilateral hip surgery is not a footnote; it’s a complete chapter in a goalkeeper’s career. Murray spent most of the 2023-2024 season rehabbing instead of playing, and when he did get back on the ice, wasn’t with the Maple Leafs. It was with the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies. There were quieter buildings and earlier games. A completely different rhythm.
When Murray healed, he also got better
But here’s the part most Maple Leafs don’t know: When Murray finally got healthy, he was good. Really good, actually. In 2024-25 with the Marlies, he went 10-5-4 with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. Those aren’t ‘just good’ numbers – they’re legitimately strong.
Toronto, however, had gone further. By the end of that season, Murray was gone. He slipped out of town. He hit Free Agency again, but this time few noticed.
Kraken signed Murray to a small contract
The Seattle Kraken came calling on July 1, 2025. The contract? One year for $1 million. No promises. The Kraken already had Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer, but they wanted insurance. They thought Murray was a player who was already there, and a goalkeeper who wouldn’t panic if thrown into the crease for a while.
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The Kraken training camp became a competition. Murray and Grubauer battled for backup duties, with Daccord clearly seen as the starter. There was even talk of Seattle bringing three goaltenders to avoid losing Murray to waivers. That in itself is good news for Murray. At the age of 31 he was wanted.
When the season started, Murray’s appearances were sporadic, but the play was steady. He didn’t steal games, but he didn’t play bad either. A 2-1 defeat here. A strong evening with no goal support there. The early numbers told a familiar story: respectable goals against, solid save percentage, zero wins. The goalkeeper stat line that quietly drives goalkeepers crazy.
Yet he kept getting stares. Because Daccord was briefly injured, Murray even ended up in a rotation. His best night came in mid-November with a 33-save performance in a shootout loss, when he did everything but win. At that moment, it felt like he could finally stabilize his place again.
Then Murray’s body responded again
Then the body intervened. Again. On November 15, 2025, Murray was injured late in the first period against the San Jose Sharks. It was a lower body problem that occurred during the first goal of the match. The update came two days later: about six weeks out. Injured reserve. Same old story, different city, different side of North America.
That injury not only sidelined him, but stopped everything. Daccord came back healthy. The depth map is reset. Murray once again found himself battling the calendar as much as the opposing shooters.
Where is Matt Murray now?
Right now the injury report says he will be out until at least February 25th. He didn’t drop out. He didn’t forget how to play. He didn’t stop working. What happened was something much less dramatic and much more common: his body never gave him enough time to fully repair itself after the operations. Will he play again? Who knows?
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In Toronto he became a question mark. In Seattle he became an insurance policy for other goaltenders. Somewhere in between, he was a reminder of how small the margin is for goaltenders whose careers peak early and break quietly.
Murray is still there. Still capable. Still respected in rooms. But the version of him that once resembled the future came too soon. At this point, it seems like he paid for it later.
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