Maple Leafs Not Buying Out Matt Murray? Trade Incoming

It appears as though the Toronto Maple Leafs might not be buying out the contract of Matt Murray after he was someone many thought would be one of the first buyouts. With the flat cap, it does seem logical to spend an asset to move all of the money instead of having some stay on the books and impact potential signings.

With Kyle Dubas now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there has been talk that they are a potential destination for Murray to be moved to. As he cannot be trusted to be a starter again with all of his injuries and inconsistent play, it will be interesting to see how a deal is facilitated. The Maple Leafs surely want all of that cap hit gone if they are to give up an asset alongside Murray to trade him, but the Penguins aren't in a great spot to take on that large of a cap hit for a potential backup. They will have to save cap space to sign an actual starter who could hopefully lead them back to the playoffs and one last Stanley Cup in the Sidney Crosby era.

Instead of buying out Petr Mrazek's contract last summer, they elected to trade him, but it cost them a first rounder even though they did only have to move down to the second round. The Maple Leafs have the Boston Bruins' first round pick this year and then their next selection is in the fifth round. Next year they're only missing a second round pick. With the $4.687 million cap hit for one final season, it might cost them another first rounder to get rid of another mistake in net.