Reporter reaches out to the NHL to inquire as to if the league plans to investigate Matt Murray LTIR situation

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Mike Armenti
September 6, 2023 (11:40)

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There were a lot of people lining up this summer to accuse the Maple Leafs of salary cap circumvention after the Buds placed Matt Murray on LTIR to start the upcoming season, freeing up $4.68M in cap space to be able to spend this summer.

We don't yet know if Murray will spend the entire year on LTIR, but TSN's Chris Johnston had reported earlier this summer that it is his belief that Murray will indeed spend the entire season on the sidelines, which has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

James Mirtle of The Athletic reached out to the NHL recently for an update on this matter and whether or not the league will seek to investigate the legitimacy of Murray's injury. Here's the answer he received:

"The Leafs aren't saying anything about Murray and where he's athis camp isn't saying anything as well. It reminds me a bit of the Joffrey Lupul situation. The guy goes away, they say he's hurt and they spend the $4.6M they gained from it and we'll see if Murray tries to make a comeback a year from now

I reached out and talked to the league and said 'are you looking at this?' and they basically said teams have to file medical documentation when someone is placed on LTIR, there's really only an investigation if the league thinks there's something funny there.

The last I heardthe league wasn't doing any kind of investigation. The thing agents and teams have said over the years is that most guys that have been in the NHL 8-10 years the way Murray had and have had as many injuries as he has it's not that hard to find an injury to point to and say this guy shouldn't be playing."

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Murray has had a laundry list of significant injuries over the years, many of which were related to concussions. Yes, Murray was cleared to return in the playoffs if called upon, but there's a difference between being cleared to play in the playoffs and being fully healthy. While Murray would have been fine to play in the postseason if Sheldon Keefe had tapped him on the shoulder, it doesn't mean that he's necessarily good to go to start the season.

With the NHL not investigating this situation more closely, I'd have to imagine that the medical documentation that the Leafs were asked to provide was pretty convincing.

Previously on HockeyUnplugged

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Eastern Conference team hires former General Manager with 20 years experience as special advisor

POLL
SEPTEMBRE 6 \| 790 ANSWERS Reporter reaches out to the NHL to inquire as to if the league plans to investigate Matt Murray LTIR situation Is Matt Murray legitimately injured?
No, they're scamming the system	278	35.2 %
He's probably injured	153	19.4 %
He's definitely hurt. Look at his history	207	26.2 %
Who cares? Get rid of the cap	152	19.2 %
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Reporter reaches out to the NHL to inquire as to if the league plans to investigate Matt Murray LTIR situation

There were a lot of people lining up this summer to accuse the Maple Leafs of salary cap circumvention after the Buds placed Matt Murray on LTIR to start the upcoming season, freeing up $4.68M in cap space to be able to spend this summer.

Is Matt Murray legitimately injured?