Maple Leafs and Senators “have intensified discussions around Matt Murray.”

It appears as though there is a real chance veteran goaltender Matt Murray could end up playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs next season.

The Maple Leafs have reportedly been aggressively pursuing a goaltender for next season and now a pair of well connected National Hockey League insiders are reporting that trade discussions between the two Ontario rivals are heating up.

It was NHL insider Elliotte Friedman who first broke the news on Saturday afternoon, reporting that talks about Murray had "intensified" between the two sides.

"Word is that [Ottawa and Toronto] have intensified discussions around Matt Murray," wrote Friedman on Saturday. "We will see how things play out, but those conversations continue."

It would appear that these discussions have been carrying on for some time and if indeed things are heating up it may be a real sign that Murray could soon be a Maple Leaf. Ottawa Senators insider Bruce Garrioch chimed in following Friedman's report to add that the talks between the Leafs and Senators have reportedly been ongoing since the NHL Draft which took place last week.

This trade would represent a significant risk on the part of the Maple Leafs, and by extension Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, as not only is Murray under contract for 2 more seasons, but he is coming off 2 very poor seasons in Ottawa.

Murray has been seriously hampered by injury and as a result he only played 27 games in his first campaign as a Senator, recording an ugly 3.38 goals against average and .893 save percentage. Last season was much of the same with Murray only appearing in 20 games and recording a 3.05 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

Murray also carries a massive cap hit of $6.25 million per season over each of the 2 seasons left on his deal, although I imagine any deal would have to involve the Senators eating a significant chunk of that salary.

If you're wondering why the Maple Leafs would take such a large risk, it may have to do with their familiarity with Murray as a goaltender. Kyle Dubas was general manager of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds during Murray's 4 seasons with that team in the Ontario Hockey League.