Matt Murray Returns to Milwaukee Admirals on Loan from Nashville Predators

Nashville's goaltending shuffle came full circle on March 22 when the Predators reassigned Matt Murray back to the Milwaukee Admirals on loan, closing out a stretch in which the 28-year-old St. Albert, Alberta native made two separate trips north to Nashville without ever appearing in a game.

The sequence began March 19, when Nashville had to change plans just before puck drop against the Seattle Kraken, recalling Murray to back up Justus Annunen after Juuse Saros was ruled out with an upper-body injury sustained at morning practice. The logistics were complicated: Murray was traveling away from the Admirals, who were on a road trip through Canada, and was making his way from Winnipeg to Nashville, expected to arrive in the second half of the game, per NHL.com's Brooks Bratten. That timing likely would have necessitated an emergency backup goalie in the stands for the first half, though Nashville did not officially sign any temporary tryouts.

Annunen rendered the point moot. Murray never suited up, and Annunen handled the crease with a 40-save effort against Vegas as part of a stretch in which Nashville's backup handled both games. Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced the reassignment back to Milwaukee on February 25 after Saros' Olympic absence ended, and the March 22 loan return formalized the same pattern following the injury scare.

It was the second time this season Milwaukee's starter made the trip north without logging NHL minutes. Nashville recalled Murray in February as its designated "Practice Goaltender" while Saros competed for Finland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Murray remained in that role throughout the Olympic break and returned to Milwaukee once Saros was back in net.

Murray has spent the 2025-26 season as the clear number one in Milwaukee's crease, recording 17 wins and a .908 save percentage across 37 games, team-highs in all three tracked categories. Those numbers represent a step back from the dominant 2024-25 campaign that put him on the league's map. At the time of his February recall, he carried a 12-14-2 record, a 2.86 goals-against average, and a .904 save percentage in 29 games. The prior season he led the entire AHL in wins (28) and save percentage (.932), earning a spot on the league's Second All-Star Team.

Nashville locked Murray up on April 9, 2025, signing him to a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level for both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. The deal ensures he remains Milwaukee's primary depth option in net for at least another full season. Undrafted out of UMass-Amherst, Murray has posted a career AHL record of 77-50-14 with a 2.49 goals-against average, and is 2-2-0 with a 2.53 goals-against average in four career NHL starts, all with the Dallas Stars.

AHL transaction records confirmed the reassignment on March 23, 2026. With Saros healthy and Annunen re-established as Nashville's backup, Murray's role for the remainder of the regular season will be anchoring a Milwaukee crease that needs stability as the Admirals push toward the Calder Cup Playoffs.