> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Now Pain-Free, Kraken Goalie Matt Murray Eager to Reclaim NHL Role - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-kraken-matt-murray-exclusive-feature/ - Published: 2025-10-21T19:14:25.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:17:43.000Z - Author: Corbin Smith - Tags: Features, Kraken, Matt Murray, Lane Lambert, Colin Zulianello, Joey Daccord, Philipp Grubauer [Embed from Getty Images](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/1246044189?ref=emeraldcityspectrum.com) SEATTLE — As thankful as Matt Murray is to have made an NHL roster this season, he’s happier that he no longer lives with the daily pain he experienced before undergoing bilateral hip surgery in October 2023. According to the 31-year-old netminder, who earned a spot on the Seattle Kraken as the third goaltender behind Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer, he dealt with pain in his hips dating all the way back to 2015-16, when he played for AHL Wilkes-Barre before getting called up and leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship as a rookie. While he contributed to a Cup repeat in 2017 and remained the starter in Pittsburgh for the following three seasons, his hips continued declining, reaching a point of pain that impacted his daily life. “It’s very pinchy,” Murray told the Emerald City Spectrum on October 8 about his hip pain. “And so even just walking up the stairs or getting up in the morning, it would take me a while to be able to walk around. I’d have to really, like, almost do like a dynamic warmup when I got out of bed, just so I could get downstairs to the kitchen or whatever. “So to not have that anymore and to not have to put all that time and energy just to be able to function properly is a huge relief.” Playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization at the time, Murray was sent to New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery, where Dr. Bryan T. Kelly, a renowned sports medicine and hip preservation surgeon, performed the operation. Following a months-long recovery process that kept him out until a three-game stint in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies in April 2024, Murray appeared in just 24 total games in 2024-25 with Toronto’s organization — just three with the Maple Leafs, including one in the playoffs — before signing a one-year, $1 million deal with the Seattle Kraken this offseason. Settling in with his new team and waiting for his first start, Murray is feeling better from a physical standpoint than he has in a long time. “Getting rid of that pain every day, it’s hard to quantify how important that is,” Murray told ECS. “So that was the biggest thing. I was so thankful that there is a procedure like that. Toronto took such good care of me, and they sent me to the best doctor (Kelly), and their rehab team there in Toronto worked tirelessly with me, so just very thankful that those resources were available to me.” Murray reunited with a couple familiar faces on the coaching staff after signing in Seattle. Kraken coach Lane Lambert spent last season as the Maple Leafs’ associate coach. Lambert ran the penalty kill, so Murray would sit in on those meetings as a goaltender and got to learn more about him, citing his “detailed” nature and “great attitude.” Murray also reunited with Kraken goalie coach Colin Zulianello, who was promoted from the same position in Coachella Valley this offseason. Murray and Zulianello are both from Thunder Bay, where the latter co-owns Giant Goaltending, and have worked together on-and-off since Murray was 11, often sharing the ice over the offseason whenever Murray was back in town. When he first heard from Seattle management that Murray was signing, Zulianello immediately reached out, and the two discussed working together again, albeit in a much different environment. Their familiarity will go a long way in helping both parties adjust to their new roles. “Just knowing his game sort of helps the transition,” Zulianello told Emerald City Spectrum. “Generally speaking, Matt’s a very pensive goaltender, where he thinks the position at a very high level, and so when we get on the ice, we’re just working on the finer details because he’s got the read component of it down.” The other area of adjustment comes with coaching three goaltenders on an NHL roster as opposed to the typical two. Zulianello said it helps that the three players involved are all good personalities that understand the situation, but overall it’s about maximizing practice time in creative ways. The goalies get 30 minutes of ice time before every practice, and the morning skates on game days provide other opportunities when the two non-starters for that night stay on for extra work. In Murray’s eyes, splitting reps between three goalies is a positive. “Personally, I think it’s great for practice,” Murray said. “You can keep your reps down and more high quality. Sometimes when practices can stretch on, you can lose the quality. I would argue that quality reps — less quantity, more quality — is better, especially as a season gets long.” Now that the season is underway, Murray has to focus on making the most of his limited opportunities. With Daccord as the No. 1 netminder taking the lionshare of work, there are only so many games to go around between Murray and Grubauer. Despite Murray’s spot on the depth chart, Lambert recently spoke about his impact on the locker room. “He brings experience and leadership, for sure,” Lambert told reporters in Toronto on Saturday. “He’s been through a lot. He’s won Stanley Cups, so that is really good for our younger group of guys to experience. And he’s definitely a mentor.” Murray started one of the team’s six preseason games, making 33 saves on 36 shots (.917 save percentage) in a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 26. With real game action so difficult to duplicate in training sessions, Murray was glad to face as many shots as he did, particularly ones through traffic. “I was fortunate I saw a game in Vancouver that had a little bit of everything, I thought,” Murray said. “A lot of high-quality chances, a lot of traffic, too, which is always the hard— I find traffic to be the hardest part to readjust to after the offseason. It’s rare in the offseason that you’re seeing five or six bodies cross the shot lane like you are in a game.” The next time Murray takes the ice in a full game capacity will be his regular season debut for the Kraken. Daccord started five of Seattle’s first six games, with Grubauer starting the other. Both goaltenders saw action in Monday’s 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, when Grubauer replaced Daccord for the third period after the latter allowed five goals on 21 shots. Entering Seattle’s first back-to-back of the season against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, it would be unlikely for Daccord to start again regardless of his performance in Monday’s game, so it’s likely Murray who will take the crease for the first time this season. The team did not have a morning skate, so it won’t be confirmed until game time. Whether Murray does in fact start on Tuesday night or has to wait even longer, Zulianello believes all he needs to do is to continue being himself. That when his number is called, he’ll answer. “He’s been healthy for a while now, so now it’s just continuing to work on his game,” Zulianello said. “We don’t really have to think about that side of things. He says he’s feeling great and says that he’s felt the best he’s felt in some time out there, and that’s kind of how it looks, so now it’s just about getting to our game plan.”