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2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

I researched this hip surgery when it took place about 15 months ago. A surprising number of goalies come back better than they were before the surgery. Murray's younger age worked in his favor. No medical procedure comes with a 100% guarantee. Lehner's career ended with hip surgery. Murray was on skates in Jan 2024. Taking shots in Feb 2024. On the ice in Mar 2024. In AHL games in Apr 2024. Throughout the summer he progressed. Others provided good reports on his progress. Murray said he felt better than he had in years. Only 8 AHL games but .931 save% 1.85 GAA .714 pts win% was not a complete shock if you followed the history and what transpired. He's not in the NHL yet but I wouldn't be very surprised if he came up and did well. 15 months of doctors, the team therapists and the player worked pretty hard steadily to get him back. Could be a nice story soon.

Edit: apparently, the Leafs called him up before the roster freeze

https://twitter.com/x/status/1869811995920539801

I did not see it in the Marlies transactions before I originally posted
theahl.com

TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League

theahl.com theahl.com
and still do not ..

EDIT again:
I checked a variety of NHL transaction sources and don't see any transactions for Hildeby or Murray

The only plausible way now might be related to Hildeby being brought up under emergency recall that might allow them to do something like return him and bring up Murray. Otherwise, the media has jumped the gun.
 
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Arn said:
I’d honestly right now rather Murray than Hildeby. Hildeby is having a tough second season in North America so is better off learning to play through the ups and downs in the AHL for a while longer.

He needs to be protected a little still so he can remain a long term option rather than a short term stopgap right now. He’s just not being put in a place to succeed in the NHL with where he is right now.

Murray doesn’t need that - if he “fails” well then he fails and he’s done and he can skate off into retirement or Europe or whatever he wishes with his Stanley Cup rings. If he succeeds we get a pretty cool redemption from serious injury story.

Obviously I’m hoping for the latter.
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Hildeby has had his game analyzed. He's accepted a variety of things he needs to improve. It is not like throwing a light switch. It is a little like adjusting a golf swing. It takes time. When one goes through it, for a period of time, they can regress. He and his coaches have done their homework. They've outlined what he needs to do. That is what he's working on. He mentioned it in recent interviews. When he gets to the other side of it, he and they believe he will be a better goalie. In the interim, there are going to be some bumps along the way. I take it as good news. He's coachable. He accepts there are things he has to work on to get better and he's doing the work. Trying to do that in the spotlight of the NHL may not be the best thing for him right now. Murray's progress may be a double blessing.
 
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Zohorna? Zero recollection of him. Up front, maybe I would swap Bunting for Robertson or Reeves but I am good with today's lineup. The D... we could never win with that D.
 
fyi (media rumours)
Athletic's James Mirtle, Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, and Elliotte Friedman have all reported that the Leafs’ are trying to acquire depth at forward - probably a second-line center. Cap constraints may force them to look at a winger instead. With Minten joining in the near future and Tavares negotiations reportedly proceeding well, sounds like a rental.

Six or more weeks after Hakanpaa's minor knee procedure in early December, they will determine if they need a dman (for the lengthy ordeal with Hakanpaa, seems likely).

In order to add anyone, they will have to move out some players for roster and cap space.
 
Hakanpaa's another case of "Leafs providing odd injury timelines". This is what Berube said about him on December 5th (via MLHS):

What is the plan for Jani Hakanpaa moving forward? He hasn’t been on the ice.

Berube: He will be back on the ice soon, and then he is good to go. He got something done — a procedure done — to help himself out a little bit. He just needs a few days, and then he will be back on the ice and getting up to speed again to be ready to go.

Will he be back on the ice this week?

Berube: I would say so, yeah. Soon.
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He'll be back on the ice in a couple of days. It's been over two weeks and as far as any reporting goes he hasn't touched the ice at all. Berube said a couple of days ago that he's still rehabbing.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Hakanpaa's another case of "Leafs providing odd injury timelines". This is what Berube said about him on December 5th (via MLHS):



He'll be back on the ice in a couple of days. It's been over two weeks and as far as any reporting goes he hasn't touched the ice at all. Berube said a couple of days ago that he's still rehabbing.
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They removed a pebble in Stolarz => 4-6 weeks
With all the trouble Hakanpaa has had, why would his prognosis for recovery be dramatically shorter?
I think Berube's credibility on reporting injury duration is rivaling Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tales.
 
cw said:
fyi (media rumours)
Athletic's James Mirtle, Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, and Elliotte Friedman have all reported that the Leafs’ are trying to acquire depth at forward - probably a second-line center. Cap constraints may force them to look at a winger instead. With Minten joining in the near future and Tavares negotiations reportedly proceeding well, sounds like a rental.

Six or more weeks after Hakanpaa's minor knee procedure in early December, they will determine if they need a dman (for the lengthy ordeal with Hakanpaa, seems likely).

In order to add anyone, they will have to move out some players for roster and cap space.
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Center good - moves Domi to wing. Winger just doesn’t seem like it will move the needle enough to be worth the assets
 
princedpw said:
Center good - moves Domi to wing. Winger just doesn’t seem like it will move the needle enough to be worth the assets
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The common reasoning reported by the media for bringing up the winger is fitting a good center under the cap is problematic and costly in terms of young assets - they feel a winger is cheaper/easier to acquire and fit under the cap.

But your point about moving Domi to the wing is well taken. He's not as strong as he needs to be defensively to play center well.

Minten is coming along. The ideal scenario would be a 2nd line center and bumping Tavares down to the 3rd line. But that will cost a lot of assets and be hard to fit under their cap. For this season, I've been shopping for a 3rd line center which will take fewer young assets to acquire and not be as much trouble to fit under the cap. That gets Domi to the wing.
 
cw said:
The common reasoning reported by the media for bringing up the winger is fitting a good center under the cap is problematic and costly in terms of young assets - they feel a winger is cheaper/easier to acquire and fit under the cap.

But your point about moving Domi to the wing is well taken. He's not as strong as he needs to be defensively to play center well.

Minten is coming along. The ideal scenario would be a 2nd line center and bumping Tavares down to the 3rd line. But that will cost a lot of assets and be hard to fit under their cap. For this season, I've been shopping for a 3rd line center which will take fewer young assets to acquire and not be as much trouble to fit under the cap. That gets Domi to the wing.
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Grab the popcorn because an intelligent franchise can work loopholes.

This has been the worst season for the Leafs in recent memory for injuries. And today, the top Leaf at each position is injured. Top Maple Leaf Defenseman, Top Forward and Top Goalie.

If we end up with an LTIR scenario, then there is a lot of flexibility to give floundering teams with empty seats some salary relief and get that 2C (and maybe even a pairing for Reilly).
 
Ozzie said:
Grab the popcorn because an intelligent franchise can work loopholes.

This has been the worst season for the Leafs in recent memory for injuries. And today, the top Leaf at each position is injured. Top Maple Leaf Defenseman, Top Forward and Top Goalie.

If we end up with an LTIR scenario, then there is a lot of flexibility to give floundering teams with empty seats some salary relief and get that 2C (and maybe even a pairing for Reilly).
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That is part of the territory when they go with an older roster. Older players are playing with more wounds so they get hurt more frequently.
 
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