Quoting: fangm
Lol now Elliot Friedman is reporting that te Leafs internally have plans to put Murray on LTIR if they don't find a reasonable trade and can't afford the cap hit onf the buyout.
I guess now we are also gonna call the most respected analyst in the sport an idiot.
Some people man, not sure how you live. Sorry for being mean, life must be hard enough being you. Don't wanna make it worse.
He's not wrong, though. You can't simply decide to LTIR someone...particularly for an entire season, unless
a) there's a legit, long-term injury (like Muzzin), or
b) the player is on board to "retire"..but happy to collect a paycheque and sit on LTIR and cooperates with team docs, etc. This is the Pronger, Zetterberg example.
Lupul had a bit of a nose-candy problem...so something tells me his agreement to stay away from the team had something to do with that....and when he stepped out of line, they must have held some threat over him to get him to shut up.
Murray is 29. It's possible he's okay going the Andrew Luck route...retiring early because he's frustrated trying to rehab from so many injuries...in which case him and the leafs may mutually agree to LTIR him so he can get paid and the leafs get the cap relief....and if Friedman is reporting it...there's a chance this could be a possibility.
But maybe there's also some sort of unwritten understanding...if the leafs want to LTIR him and he doesn't want to go because he thinks he can play...if he fights against his own team does he get black-balled next year as a UFA and so he is pressured to go along with it?
Hard to say how those back-room conversations go down...it's possible he wants to get back on the ice, either by Sept/Oct. or at some point during the season...which would require finding cap space for him. My understanding of the CBA says that if there's some sort of dispute in how healthy he is... whether that's the NHL questioning the doctors report or Murray himself believing he's healthy enough to play...and independent doctor will be assigned by the NHL.
So while I don't doubt the leafs are exploring the option of sending Murray to LTIR...there's a little bit of leg work and cooperation required.