Leafs goalie Matt Murray takes unexpected leap forward in his recovery

Recently, Murray had begun skating and working with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford away from the rest of the team. Today at practice, however, Murray made a surprising appearance during warm-ups where he was seen taking shots from teammates, allowing him to test his surgically repaired hips more vigorously than he has to this point.

When the Leafs placed Murray on LTIR, they didn't specifically say he was out for the season, but everyone assumed he would be given the cap constraints the Leafs faced at the time.

Murray had surgery on October 8th, which means the six-month timeline and the minimum recovery time would be April 8th, just in time for the playoffs. Is it possible that we could see the return of Murray to game action in the playoffs? Highly unlikely, but if the Leafs are marred by injuries and/or the trio of Ilya Samsonov, Martin Jones and Joseph Woll struggle, there is a chance we have not seen the last of Murray in the blue and white.

Following practice, Sheldon Keefe was asked about Murray joining the Leafs for the first time since surgery to which he explained that Murray is still "a long ways away" from game action.

The 29-year-old is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and will likely find himself on a league-minimum contract that will be a "prove it" deal. In 272 career games, Murray has compiled a 146-86-24 record with a 2.79 GAA and .910 save percentage to go along with 15 shutouts and two Stanley Cups.