Quoting: MadLin27
Gotta be honest, I like the idea of Matt Murray and I thought this trade had some real potential with double retention or 50% retention, but man...
4.7mill for Murray is a tough pill to swallow
If you want to delude yourself into looking at this positively it's basically:
Marzek (3.800M x 2)+25th 2022 for Murray (4.687M x 2)+38th 2022+2023 OTT 3rd+2024 OTT 7th
Meaning, the Leafs increased their payroll by 887k.
A counter argument would be that they could have spent that 3.8M on different pieces, but the response to that would be which goalie do they realistically acquire? Kuemper is the only legitimate starter, and there is no guarantee he would sign in Toronto when he will have multiple suitors. Campbell is going to get overpaid by virtue of being in the right market at the right time. Gibson's agent roasted the Leafs.
There are no starters rumored to be available in a trade.
That is who is available as of now. Minus Kuemper (already tied to another team), Campbell (EDM), Holtby (retired). So you have Comrie, Jones as the only goalies available who played more than 20 games and had .900+ save percentages last season. Comrie has never played a full season as a starter. Jones is not a starter.
Samsonov is available, but has been underwhelming for years, and is likely to get an inflated AAV based on his potential. Point being, there is nobody who isn't a risk like Murray is. There are players who are cheaper, but their ceiling is much lower.
Dubas put the Leafs in an awful situation goalie wise. They were left as one of the last teams without a goalie in a market where there aren't enough to go around. In that context, this move might have been his best option. Which is why Dorion managed to dump 75 percent of Murray for effectively nothing.