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UPDATE The Maple Leafs have recalled goalie Erik Kallgren from the AHL Marlies to replace Matt Murray after Kallgren was medically cleared following a collision in Rochester on Friday.
With Kallgren being recalled, Murray is heading to LTIR due to an adductor injury suffered during the morning skate on Saturday. The injury is expected to keep Murray out a minimum of four weeks, and him being placed on LTIR is not only for recovery time, but also to give the Leafs cap space to carry more than 20 players when they head on a five-game Western road swing next week.
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The story that everyone was focusing on prior to the first match between the much improved Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs was goalie Matt Murray facing his old club after being traded to Toronto in July, but the concerns about the two-time Cup winner’s durability are overshadowing for the first Battle of Ontario, as Murray departed the morning skate on Saturday early.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Murray was ok after the 4-3 loss to Montreal on Wednesday and that the discomfort popped up while doing drills, but he did not rule out Murray making the start.
"Matt had some discomfort in his groin in the morning skate. We just decided it made sense to remove him from the skate to get him assessed and that process is still ongoing."Keefe said. "It's still too early at this point to really give you much in terms of the 'what if' type scenarios or anything like that, we're just going to focus on getting that assessed and take it from there."
Ilya Samsonov may get the start if Murray cannot go, but the Leafs goaltending situation has gotten complicated just one week into the season, as Marlies goalie Erik Kallgren was injured in a 4-2 loss to Rochester on Friday.
Kallgren left the game midway through the second period after getting plowed over by Amerks defenseman Ethan Prow. Kallgren was replaced by Dylan Ferguson and Marlies head coach Greg Moore did not provide an update after the game.
Erik Kallgren gets run over by Ethan Prow and has since gone to the dressing room.
One thing the Leafs appeared to be conscious of in the offseason was bolstering their goaltending depth. Toronto added 20-year-old Swede Dennis Hildeby in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft to join Russians Artur Akhtyamov and Slava Peksa as development prospects, and Ferguson, Keith Petruzzelli, and Hobey Baker Award winner Dryden McKay on AHL deals.
With concerns about Murray’s durability now realized two games into the season, having Kallgren (who got some NHL experience last season) as a third option was essential, but he is not available tonight and could be out for a while, Joseph Woll is rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, and Hildeby is playing for Farjestad in the SHL.
The Leafs situation is perilous, as it is not clear if they can call up goalies on AHL contracts (even on an emergency basis) and they cannot sign one of them to an NHL deal, because after signing forward Zach Aston-Reese and not being able to trade forward Wayne Simmonds, Toronto is at the 50 NHL contract limit.
The Leafs indicated that they will provide an update on Murray’s status prior to the game.
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