Matt Murray speaks to fans and media for the first time since Leafs trade

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Matt Murray from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for... well... nothing, really.

The Sens shipped Murray with 25% of his salary retained along with a 3rd round pick and a 7th round pick to the Leafs in exchange for "future considerations". Officially, this is just a cap dump for the Sens and it frees them from paying $6.25 million per season for the next two seasons. Instead they'll pay just $1.5 million of Murray's salary this upcoming season and next season. The Leafs, meanwhile, will be on the hook for $4.6 million of Murray's salary the next two seasons.

It's a HUGE gamble for the Leafs and they're hoping that the 28 year old netminder can turn back the clock a few seasons to when he was a dominant goaltender with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today Murray met with the Toronto media to take questions and he made it clear that he's got a lot to prove this upcoming season.

Check out some of these quotes:

“It’s a place where I really feel like I can thrive. I think I have a lot to prove. I feel like I’ve got another gear to get to and super motivated going into this year.”

“Putting on that jersey for the first time I think is going to be something real special for me. They were my favourite team growing up.”

- Matt Murray

No doubt about it, the pressure will be on Murray to perform. While there are reports that the Leafs will try to lock down a quality backup to play alongside Murray this upcoming season, the team cannot afford for him to underperform. For better or worse Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has pushed all his chips in on Murray and is making a huge gamble. Personally, I don't think it's a wise gamble at Murray's cap hit but if Dubas were to get the Sens to retain 50% of Murray's salary then it would make more sense. In that case, you can just bury his salary and count on him as a backup but at $4.6 million they need him to perform and to perform well. Fingers crossed, Leafs fans.