Have some fun

As serious as Murray can be on the ice, off of it he is capable of relaxing. One of those places is on the tennis court, where he and one of his best friends since middle school, Alex Vaillant, get together a couple times per week in the offseason.

The matches are sometimes intense, but they almost always include some good-natured ribbing. On this day, Vaillant whips out his phone to show a picture of Murray as a toddler.

“Look at his ears,” Vaillant said, pulling his fingers apart to make the photo on his cracked iPhone screen appear larger. “He was 8, and his ears were 16.”

Murray stayed in the background, laughing.

Later, Murray shot back at Vaillant, wondering aloud whether Vaillant would make an awkward tennis photo of himself his new Tinder profile picture.

“We’ve been friends for so long,” Murray said. “We know how we like to operate. One of those ways is just kind of making fun of each other. That’s our own little way of showing each other that we care, I guess.”

The group used to play video games together, typically Call of Duty and NHL, and Murray took plenty of heat for his fits of rage.

“He’s been through quite a few controllers,” Vaillant said, laughing. “We knew if Despite early success, Matt Murray insists he has much to prove and improve. Personal trainer Steve Bailot works him out in a gym located in the basement of an old warehouse.

Murray takes out-oftown guests to Hillcrest Park overlooking Thunder Bay. The views are spectacular and the area good for honing the mind and the man. Video of the PG’s interview with Matt Murray at home in Thunder Bay at