No, not the two-time Stanley Cup Champion Matt Murray.

Matthew Murray deserves better than to be confused with his namesake, as his under-the-radar journey has been one of hard work and steady progression.

The goaltender opted to go the Junior A route and proved successful.

Murray posted a 37-5-3 record with five shutouts in two AJHL seasons.

In 2015-16 while a member of the Spruce Grove Saints, he won the CJHL and AJHL’s top goaltender awards. That same season, he helped Canada West win gold at the World Junior A Challenge.

The next step to the USHL was also productive.
As a member of Fargo Wells, Murray ranked 17th in save percentage, 13th in GAA and tied for seconds in wins (30).

The Alberta native spent the next five years at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
At the NCAA level, he posted a 73-39-4 record with 14 shutouts over 121 games.
Murray won three Hockey East championships and was an overall NCAA champion in 2020-21 while splitting duties with Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Filip Lindberg.

Having gone undrafted through his eligibility period, Murray signed an ATO for the Texas Stars in 2021 after graduating from Umass.

It was quite the story as the inexperienced Canadian backstopped Texas to an unlikely playoff qualification.

A 3-2 debut victory against eventual Calder Cup Champions Chicago was a fine start.

He would allow four goals in a loss in the next game against the same opponent but was lights out from that point on.

In four victories, Murray allowed just four goals, posting his first professional shutout against Iowa Wild.

Texas clinched the final play-off berth ahead of Iowa with a three-point margin.
Murray won both starts against the Wild, allowing just one goal.

The rookie was given his head in the playoffs.
It speaks incredibly highly of the belief shown in him by the coaching staff.

He allowed only two goals in regulation across two games against Rockford, but Texas could not find the offence to make it count.
A 1-0 overtime loss and 2-1 reverse in regulation signalled the end of the Stars’ season.

For Murray it was just the beginning, as in the summer, he penned a two-year AHL deal.

The 2022-23 campaign didn’t get off to the best start allowing five goals in a loss to Colorado.

Since then, Murray has won 3 of four games, including another shutout against Iowa, who must be sick of him by now.

The 24-year-old has outperformed Anton Khudboin so far this season, posting a 0.926Sv% and had to play in relief of the veteran goaltender in his last outing.


The Dallas Stars were left with a headache after Jake Oettinger suffered an injury this past weekend.
Khudboin’s $3.33 million cap hit made him too expensive for an NHL call-up.

Instead of searching for other options including a trade, Dallas Stars signed Matt Murray to a one-year entry-level contract.

You could argue this contract is fortuitous, rather than a reward for his play.

This situation has nothing to do with Murray, however.
His excellent, if tentative professional career to date and form this season was likely to result in an NHL deal shortly regardless.

One recent example of a goaltender signing in the AHL and making the NHL from relative obscurity is Logan Thomson.
He’s rocking a .943 save percentage through six games and played just 49 games in the AHL before stepping up.