Leafs, Samsonov $2.5 million apart in contract arbitration filing: report
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ilya Samsonov don’t appear all that close when it comes to salary asks.
With Samsonov set to have his arbitration hearing this Friday, the team and players are $2.5 million apart when it comes to what they’ve filed to the third-party arbitrator that will decide his salary for next season unless the two parties can strike a deal before.
Per Sportsnet’s Friedman, the Leafs are filing at a one-year rate of $2.4 million, while Samsonov is filing at $4.9M.
Arbitration filings in for Ilya Samsonov (TOR). Team: $2.4M; player $4.9M.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 19, 2023
After surprisingly not being qualified by the Washington Capitals last year as an RFA,Ā Samsonov chose to sign a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the Leafs. It appeared he was going to be the second-string netminder behind Matt Murray to begin the season, but the latter struggled with injuries which opened the door for Samsonov to take the number-one role.
In 42 games this season, Samsonov put up a 2.33 goals-against average (GAA) along with a .919 save percentage (SV%) and a 27-10-5 record. Both his GAA and SV% marked the highest of his NHL career since debuting in 2019-20.
In the playoffs, he recorded a 3.13 GAA and a .898 SV% in nine appearances.
Next season, Samsonov likely reprises as the team’s starter, with Murray possibly being bought out or placed on long-term injured reserve. However, Joseph Woll will be pining for his shot at an NHL starting job, after decently impressing in his limited action with the Leafs in the postseason following Samsonov’s injury in Game 3 of the second round.
With Files from Colton Pankiw