Matt Murray (ice hockey, born 1998)

Matthew Murray (born February 2, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played junior in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) with the Spruce Grove Saints and the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Fargo Force, as well as NCAA collegiate hockey with the UMass Minutemen.

Playing career
Murray began his junior career in his hometown of St. Albert, spending three seasons with the St. Albert Sabres of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL) and St. Albert Flyers of the Alberta Major Midget Hockey League (AMMHL). He then began in Junior A with the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), leading the team to an AJHL championship in 2015 and winning both the AJHL and CJHL Best Goaltender awards for 2015–16. Murray ultimately joined the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL) for his final junior season.

After the conclusion of his time in juniors, Murray played five seasons of collegiate hockey with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Murray, posting a career 2.23 goals against average and .916 save percentage, helped the Minutemen to three consecutive Hockey East championships in 2019, 2021, and 2022, with a national championship victory in 2021. In his final season with UMass, Murray was named to the Hockey East Third All-Star team. During this time, Murray gained a degree of notoriety for sharing his name with the then-Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender of the same name, attending the Penguins' rookie camp after his first year at UMass.

As an undrafted free agent, Murray signed an amateur tryout contract with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL) after his final season at UMass, appearing in eight games across the regular season and playoffs. During the following offseason, Texas signed Murray to a full two-year contract.

On October 31, 2022, Murray was signed to a one-year entry-level contract by the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL), Texas' major-league affiliate. Shortly afterwards, he was recalled to Dallas' main roster as the result of an injury to starting goaltender Jake Oettinger, with Murray serving as backup to Scott Wedgewood.

After further injuries to Wedgewood, Murray was again recalled to Dallas' roster on February 22, 2023; Murray then made his NHL debut on March 2, earning his first win and saving 19 of 21 shots faced in a 5–2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Murray later signed a one-year extension with Dallas on June 15, 2023.

On January 8, 2024, Murray earned his first NHL shutout in a 4–0 win over the Minnesota Wild.

As a free agent following the 2023–24 season, Murray signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators on July 1, 2024.

International play
Murray appeared for the Canada West team in four games at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge, posting a .911 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average en route to a gold medal.