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Ilya Samsonov

Maple Leafs Recall Ilya Samsonov

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After clearing waivers early last week, Ilya Samsonov’s brief stint on the AHL roster is over. The Maple Leafs recalled last season’s starting netminder this morning, returning youngster Dennis Hildeby to AHL Toronto in a corresponding transaction.

Samsonov, 26, has had a horrid go of things this season that culminated in a minor-league assignment to work with the team’s development staff. He did not suit up in any game action for the AHL’s Marlies during his ten-day stint. To go along with a rather peculiar 5-2-6 record, Samsonov had a .862 SV% in 15 NHL games – second-worst in the league among qualified netminders only to the Hurricanes’ Antti Raanta.

Without any stats from his AHL run, it’s hard to gauge from an outside viewpoint if Samsonov is mentally ready to rebound from his struggles. There’s no doubt he’s a skilled, capable netminder. After all, he started 40 out of 82 games for Toronto last season and stopped 18 goals above expected, which was tenth in the league, per MoneyPuck. It’s also unclear whether or not the Leafs plan to play Samsonov anytime soon, as they’ve shown a willingness to ride the hot hand and start Martin Jones in back-to-back contests already once this month. The recall could be just to get Samsonov back working with the Leafs’ NHL staff as he gets closer to being deemed ready to play.

This has to be a tad disappointing for Hildeby, who didn’t see any action during his first NHL recall. After backing up Jones in four games, the monstrous 22-year-old Swede heads back to the Marlies, where he has a 2.20 GAA, .919 SV%, two shutouts, and a 7-5-3 record in 15 games this year.

East Notes: Samsonov, Meier, Cernak, Fleury

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Having just cleared waivers yesterday, questions immediately sprouted concerning Ilya Samsonov, and how the Toronto Maple Leafs plan to deal with the struggling goaltender. Now rostered with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic shed a bit more light on the issue this afternoon.

Speaking with the General Manager of the Maple Leafs, Brad Treliving, it does not appear that Samsonov will play nor practice with the Marlies this week, as Treliving is quoted as saying, “It’s a physical and a mental reset where can he get away from preparing for the next game and all the pressures that come with it”.

Although a bold action to take near the middle of the season, Toronto is seemingly running out of ideas on how to maximize Samsonov’s play between the pipes. In what is shaping to be the worst statistical output of his career, Samsonov holds a 5-2-6 record in 15 games, carrying a dismal .862 SV% and a 3.94 GAA.

Other notes:

  • Experiencing plenty of injury concerns from multiple significant players this season, the New Jersey Devils will be without forward Timo Meier for an undisclosed amount of time, as he is dealing with a mid-body injury according to team reporter, Amanda Stein. Stein indicates that it is not a re-aggravation of any of Meier’s previous injury concerns this season, something he has been seemingly battling for much of the regular season.
  • Taking a hit to their defensive core, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be without Erik Cernak on a day-to-day basis, while Haydn Fleury will be on more of a week-to-week timeline (X Link). In all fairness to Fleury, Cernak is the more significant defenseman to miss time, as he has blossomed into one of the better shutdown defensemen in the NHL with Tampa Bay. Averaging over 19 minutes of ice time per game, Cernak holds a 90.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength this season.

Ilya Samsonov Clears Waivers

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01/01/24: As expected, Samsonov has cleared waivers, according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. As a result, he is now eligible for assignment to AHL Toronto.

 12/31/23: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed goaltender Ilya Samsonov on waivers. Samsonov’s last appearance came on December 29nd, when he allowed the Columbus Blue Jackets six goals on only 21 shots.

Samsonov’s placement on waivers was coupled with Toronto’s AHL club recalling ECHL goaltender Luke Cavallin, something that Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman thinks may be a sign that Dennis Hildeby could receive a call-up to the NHL squad should Samsonov clear waivers. Hildeby has been gaining traction in the eyes of Toronto fans, setting a 7-5-3 record and .919 save percentage in the 15 AHL games he’s appeared in this season. The Swedish goaltender is in his first full season of North American hockey, after joining the AHL’s Toronto Marlies following the end of Farjestads’ 2022-23 season in the SHL. The 22-year-old goalie was prolific in Sweden’s top league last season, setting a .918 save percentage in 21 games with the top club. The Leafs drafted Hildeby in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Like all players after pick 54 in that draft class, Hildeby has yet to make his NHL debut – something that could change soon with this recent roster moves.

Samsonov is placed on waivers after a series of disappointing games. The 26-year-old netminder currently carries a .862 save percentage through 15 games, second-worst in the league among goalies with 15-or-more games. The only goaltender with a worse save percentage is Antti Raanta, who was similarly waived earlier in the season. Samsonov is in his second season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, going to arbitration to earn a one-year, $3.6MM contract with the team for this season.

Atlantic Notes: Samsonov, Sabres Coaches, Sergachev

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Following another tough outing that saw him allow six goals to Columbus in an overtime loss, Ilya Samsonov’s short-term future appears to be in question.  Jonas Siegel of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the Maple Leafs can no longer afford to put the netminder in their lineup with how much he has struggled; his save percentage on the season is down to just .862 even though he only has two regulation losses in his 15 starts.

Toronto’s challenge, of course, is that with Joseph Woll likely out for another month and Martin Jones being more of a depth veteran than a viable starter, they don’t really have anyone else to turn to other than prospect Dennis Hildeby or another youngster in the minors.  With Hildeby being in his first full AHL campaign though, calling him up this early wouldn’t be ideal.  However, Siegel highlights that with how the Maple Leafs’ schedule goes in the next little bit, they wouldn’t have to call on Hildeby much, lessening the risk of exposing him too early to the top level.  Promoting him would then allow Samsonov to either accept a conditioning stint with the Marlies or be assigned there pending waiver clearance to try to get back on track.

Siegel also wonders if Jaroslav Halak could make sense in the short term to avoid bringing Hildeby up although it’s worth noting that the Maple Leafs already have seven goalies on an NHL contract.  To use Halak, they’d have to make it eight which isn’t an ideal situation to be in.  Samsonov had a good first season in Toronto last year, earning a $3.55MM deal for his troubles but his platform year to unrestricted free agency has been nothing short of a disaster so far.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Sabres announced (Twitter link) that head coach Don Granato will miss today’s game versus Columbus due to illness. Instead of using an assistant in the interim head coaching role, Buffalo has recalled Rochester’s head coach Seth Appert who will be in charge behind the bench.  Appert is in his fourth season with the Amerks who also play tonight but will have assistants Vinny Prospal and Nathan Paetsch split the coaching duties for that contest.
  • Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev took part in practice on Friday but was only able to make it through about half the session, relays Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times. As a result, the 25-year-old won’t make his return to the lineup tonight against the Rangers.  Sergachev has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury and has 19 points in 33 games so far this season while playing nearly 23 minutes a night.

Maple Leafs Have Examined Goalie Trade Market

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The Maple Leafs have “dipped their toes” into the goaltender trade market in the wake of an injury to youngster Joseph Woll and poor play from the more experienced Ilya Samsonov, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Freidman reported on Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines program.

Nothing is imminent, however, and Friedman says not to expect a deal without the first few days after the holiday roster freeze lifts next Wednesday. The Maple Leafs are reportedly intent on wanting to work with Samsonov and hope he can return to the true starter form he displayed last season.

Samsonov’s play has indeed been nightmarish this year. Through 14 games, he has a rather peculiar 5-2-5 record but a .871 SV% that ranks near the bottom of the league. His -11.5 goals saved above average are third-worst in the NHL, ahead of only Blackhawks youngster Arvid Söderblom (-12.6 GSAA) and Hurricanes backup Antti Raanta (-15.1 GSAA), the latter of whom was waived earlier this week.

While Samsonov has struggled with inconsistency since breaking into the league with the Capitals in 2019, few expected this significant drop-off from last season’s play. He started a career-high 40 contests, limited in part due to minor injuries and the fact he was viewed as the backup to two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray heading into the season. Injuries and mediocrity plagued Murray’s brief time in Toronto, allowing Samsonov to take the starter’s crease. Murray remains on long-term injured reserve this season after undergoing hip surgery and is not expected to be available at any point.

He responded with a 27-10-5 record, .919 SV%, 2.33 GAA, and four shutouts, all career highs. In the postseason, he outdueled Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy in the crease and guided the Maple Leafs to their first playoff series win in the salary cap era. Unfortunately, an injury in Game 3 of the team’s second-round series against the Panthers ended his season, and the Maple Leafs bowed out in five games.

The Leafs, however, were not sold on a long-term extension for Samsonov – a restricted free agent last summer – given their tight salary cap situation. Samsonov elected for salary arbitration with the club, and he did not agree to an extension with the team before the hearing, resulting in a one-year, $3.55MM award that makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer. After this season’s struggles, it’s looked like the prudent choice.

While Toronto would prefer to rehabilitate Samsonov’s game, his one-year deal makes him an easier player to trade if they opt for an upgrade in the crease. The 25-year-old Woll is beginning to solidify himself as the team’s starter after posting a .915 SV% through 15 appearances, but he remains sidelined week-to-week with a high ankle sprain. He isn’t expected to miss a significant chunk of the season, though, so any move Toronto makes in the crease would be to find a better tandem partner or backup for Woll come playoff time.

A seller’s market makes a trade purely for short-term help undesirable. As Friedman notes, only a handful of teams have legitimate options of value in the crease available on the trade market, and inquiring teams have felt “extorted” by asking prices for targets, assumedly netminders like Ducks starter John Gibson and Canadiens tandem veteran Jake Allen.

One player who is not an option for NHL time this season is 22-year-old Swede Dennis Hildeby, who Friedman reports Toronto intends to keep in the minors to continue his development. The 2022 fourth-round pick is massive at 6-foot-7 and 223 pounds and has exploded for a .921 SV% and 7-4-2 record through 13 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in his first full season in North America.

The play of veteran call-up Martin Jones in the wake of Woll’s injury is also something to monitor. A handful of solid performances could make the Maple Leafs comfortable with what they have, especially given his notable postseason experience. Jones was in the crease for the San Jose Sharks’ only Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history in 2016 and led all playoff goalies with a .928 SV% in 2018, although he hasn’t been an above-average NHL option since.

Entering tonight’s games, however, Jones had a respectable .907 SV% and one shutout in five appearances, three of them starts. For a team consistently teetering against the salary cap’s Upper Limit, squeezing all they can out of Jones and his $875K cap hit is an appealing proposition for Toronto.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Gaunce, Chabot, Samsonov

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Per a team announcement, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies, announced they have signed defenseman Cameron Gaunce to a professional tryout. Already a solid defensive team sitting at 10th in the AHL in terms of goals against, Gaunce’s experience on the blue line should help strengthen the Marlies defensive core even more.

A solid offensive defenseman during his time in the OHL, Gaunce was originally a second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2008 NHL Draft. Since leaving the OHL after the 2009-10 season, Gaunce has managed 14 years of AHL experience, as well as accruing 37 games at the NHL level split between Colorado, Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

In the minor leagues, Gaunce has played in a total of 783 games, scoring 50 goals and 248 assists, spending the last three years playing for the Ontario Reign. He won’t provide much in the way of offense over the length of his tryout, but largely sporting a younger defensive core, Gaunce’s experience should ultimately make for a great addition to the Marlies’ blue line.

Other notes:

  • Although he had fully recovered from a hand injury and returned to action for the Ottawa Senators on December 1st, defenseman Thomas Chabot may once again miss a stretch of games for the Senators. Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports that Chabot will not play for the team tonight against the New York Rangers after experiencing some discomfort in his leg, and will have an MRI to make a more accurate diagnosis. In his return to the ice last week, Chabot averaged just over 24 minutes of ice time in two games, adding one assist on the powerplay.
  • After having missed a few games due to an illness, goaltender for the Maple Leafs, Ilya Samsonov, has made his return to practice. Unfortunately, Samsonov did not make it through the full practice and had to depart early (X Link). It may not mean much, however, as Toronto had already loaned goaltender Martin Jones back to the AHL this morning, meaning the team may have good enough confidence that he will still be available for the team’s game on Thursday.

Snapshots: Reichel, Bogosian, Samsonov

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Chicago Blackhawks forward Lukas Reichel will be a healthy scratch for today’s game, according to head coach Luke Richardson. Reichel will be in the press box even though Anthony Beauvillier will be unavailable for the game today as some of the logistics related to his trade from the Canucks are still to be sorted out.

After scoring 15 points in 23 games last season, there was some optimism that Reichel would have a breakout 2023-24 season next to phenom Connor Bedard. So far that hasn’t happened, though, as the 2020 17th overall pick has just two goals and six points this season.

Some notes from the rest of the NHL:

  • Veteran defenseman Zach Bogosian will not play in today’s Minnesota Wild game, as the blueliner is dealing with an upper-body injury. Bogosian was acquired by Wild to help shore up their defense and has thus far played in nine games for the Wild. With him out of the lineup, Jon Merrill will get the call for Minnesota.
  • Ilya Samsonov was absent from Toronto Maple Leafs practice today as he’s still dealing with an illness. Samsonov’s illness led to veteran Martin Jones being recalled on an emergency basis, and he backed up Joseph Woll for last night’s game against the Boston Bruins. Since the Maple Leafs next play Thursday, one would assume that Samsonov will be ready to play by then, although we obviously do not have official confirmation of that timeline.

Arbitration Breakdown: Jeremy Swayman

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Today, The Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman filed their arbitration numbers, and according to Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Boston has filed at $2MM for one year, while Swayman has asked for $4.8MM. The 24-year-old netminder and the Bruins have until Sunday to work out a deal before they will go to arbitration.

Swayman’s number is sure to shock some people, but that is typically how this process works. The team files a lowball number, and the player files high. The arbitrator’s decision typically falls somewhere in the middle, as was the case with the Toronto Maple Leafs and netminder Ilya Samsonov.

Swayman is coming off the best season of his career and does have considerable leverage in these negotiations. The Anchorage, Alaska native posted a 24-6-4 record this past year with a .920 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against average. His save percentage was good enough for fourth in the league trailing only Filip Gustavsson, Ilya Sorokin, and Swayman’s partner Linus Ullmark. Speaking of Ullmark, his presence complicates the situation with Swayman because he is coming off a career year as well, one in which he won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender. Ullmark also has two years left on his contract and is unlikely to be moved this late in the summer.

The Bruins do have a bit of cap space to sign Swayman, however, they will want to keep the cap hit as low as possible since they have other pressing needs throughout their lineup from free agency departures and the retirement of Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins have a hair under $5.5MM in cap space and could be presented with some major challenges if the arbitrator rules a salary that is close to Swayman’s filing.

For Swayman, he will be looking to cash in on what has been a terrific career thus far. He just completed the three-year-contract entry-level contract that paid him $925K this past season, and while his filing is on the high side, he will likely triple or quadruple his salary this upcoming season.

A lot of teams will take a player to arbitration in the hopes of laying the groundwork for future salary cap management. However, in this case, Boston is just trying to stay cap compliant and keep as much of their team intact as they can.

Filings

Team: $2MM (one-year)
Player: $4.8MM (one-year)
Midpoint: $3.4MM

(via Friedman)

The Numbers

As mentioned above, 2022-23 saw Swayman have a career year, and while he was phenomenal when he did play, his sample size is still quite small. Swayman has never played in more than 41 games and hasn’t had to carry the workload in Boston since he’s always had the benefit of playing behind a bonafide number-one goaltender. There is a good argument to be made that it isn’t any fault of Swayman’s, and he can only play the games he plays. However, he is asking for starting goaltender money, and up to this point, he hasn’t been a starter. You can look to other teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had star backups in Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry, but both of those netminders struggled with injuries and inconsistency once they were appointed as starters.

For Swayman, this season wasn’t all that far off from last season. His save percentage was slightly better, and he lost fewer games. However, he also played behind a far superior team than he did in previous seasons. That is also something that critics will point to, Swayman plays behind one of the best teams in the league, and again, that isn’t his fault. But it could be a knock the Bruins use in the ugly process that is arbitration.

From Swayman’s perspective, despite being mostly a backup, he can point to the fact that he’s taken over the net in consecutive postseasons from Ullmark. While that isn’t proof of anything, it does give his arbitration case credibility and showcase that the Bruins view the youngster as an NHL starter.

Swayman is also not a one-year wonder and can point to a few seasons of sustained success at the NHL level. Since he made his NHL debut in 2020-21, he has posted an impressive nine shutouts in 82 starts and is second in the NHL in goals-against average with a 2.40, and he also ranks fifth in save percentage with a .920 career save percentage. Some people might point to those numbers and say Swayman is the benefactor or a good team in front of him, and that is fair. However, if you take a deep dive into his numbers, you will find that over the course of his career, he has posted a ridiculous 33.8 goals saved above expected.

It will be interesting to see how the Bruins value Swayman. Do they see him as a long-term starting netminder, or is their view that he is a strong backup? You have to wonder if the Bruins had more cap space this summer if they wouldn’t try and lock him into a long-term deal at a reasonable cap hit. But that isn’t the world Boston is living in, and unfortunately for them, they are up against the cap and up against a player who has been terrific for them for quite some time.

This is a tough case to pin down due to the volatility of the goaltending position. However, given that the Maple Leafs and Samsonov just went through this process, it seems likely that the arbitrator will rule somewhere close to the middle of the two sides’ filings.

2022-23 Stats: 37GP 24W 6L 4T/O .920SV% 2.27GAA 4SO

Career Stats: 88GP 54W 23L 7T/0 .920SV% 2.24GAA 9SO

Potential Comparables

Comparable contracts are restricted to those signed within restricted free agency, which means UFA deals and entry-level pacts are ineligible to be used. The contracts below fit within those parameters. Player salaries also fall within the parameters of the submitted numbers by both sides of this negotiation. 

Ilya Samsonov (Maple Leafs) – Samsonov was just awarded a one-year deal for $3.55MM and is the obvious comparison for Swayman. However, it may serve as a “low-end” comparable for what his awarded contract could look like. Swayman is two years younger than Samsonov, and although he has a shorter track record, Swayman’s career numbers are vastly superior. However, if you look at just this past season in a vacuum, their numbers are quite similar. They sport an almost identical save percentage with a .01 difference, Swayman’s goals-against was .06 percent better and Samsonov dressed in five more games. A key point is the perception of the two goaltenders at the end of the year is different, despite coming to similar finales. Samsonov is widely viewed as Toronto’s starter heading into next year, while Swayman is firmly viewed as the Bruins’ backup. This perception could be a difference-maker in the eyes of an arbitrator. But, if they look strictly at the numbers, one will think that Swayman could be staring down a higher salary next year.

Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins) – This comparison is a bit older, but it still applies to Swayman’s situation, given the flat-cap world we are living in. Jarry signed a three-year, $3.5MM AAV pact with the Penguins after his 2020-21 season, a year where he went 20-12-1 while posting a .921 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average while being named to the all-star game. Unlike Swayman, Jarry ended that campaign firmly viewed as the Penguins goaltender of the future after Matt Murray faltered in the playoffs once again. Pittsburgh knew that Jarry was their goaltender of the future and locked him up to a bridge deal. To that point in his career, Jarry had played just 62 games and had gone 34-20-4. Despite the lack of playing time, the then 26-year-old was viewed as a bonafide starter, something that Swayman might have to wait to be labeled.

Projection

Swayman has been terrific thus far in his career, however, his numbers are not strong enough to justify his $4.8MM AAV ask. However, he’s aiming high, and he has an excellent case to top Samsonov’s $3.55MM contract and Jarry’s $3.5AAV from 2020. I would have to guess that Swayman will be awarded something in the $3.55MM – $3.75MM range.

If Swayman can post numbers similar to what he has done thus far in his career, one would have to think that Boston will push to trade Ullmark next season and finally anoint Swayman as their number-one goalie. Swayman has probably earned a bridge deal at this point but given that he plays on a team as good as the Bruins, there is only so much money to go around. He will have to wait to get his security, but for now, he should get a nice pay bump next season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Evening Notes: Gustavsson, Crammarossa, Iowa

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Joe Smith of The Athletic writes that it appears the Minnesota Wild and goaltender Filip Gustavsson will decide their contract dispute in arbitration. Smith writes that the deal will get done but will most likely be done through an arbitrator as the sides appear unlikely to reach an agreement without the intervention. The Wild and Gustavsson are set to go to arbitration on August 4th, and with Ilya Samsonov’s ruling now official and Jeremy Swayman’s case set to be heard later this week, both sides should have a clearer picture of what would be a fair contract from the club and the 25-year-old goaltender.

Gustavsson excelled in his first year in Minnesota after coming over in an off-season trade from the Ottawa Senators. It was expected that the native of Skelleftea, Sweden would backup Marc-Andre Fleury, however by the time the playoffs rolled around Gustavsson owned the Minnesota net having gone 22-9-7 with a .931 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average.

The Wild are dealing with a very precarious cap situation as they deal with the blowback from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts that are eating up about $15MM of Minnesota’s cap space. However, they do still have around $5MM in cap space remaining to re-sign the young netminder.

In other evening notes:

  • Joseph Cramarossa has officially signed a contract with the Löwen Frankfurt of the DEL league. Cramarossa played in the NHL as recently as the past season as he played four games for the Minnesota Wild, scoring just a single goal. He also posted four goals and five assists in 18 games with the Iowa Wild of the AHL. Back in January of this year, Cramarossa had his contract terminated by the Wild and at that time he went overseas to play for Adlern Mannheim of the DEK. While in Germany Cramarossa posted two goals and six assists in 15 games.
  • Lastly, the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL have announced that they’ve come to terms with defensemen Robbie Stucker and Ben Brinkman on contracts for the 2023-24 season. The club also announced that forward Jake Durflinger has agreed to a deal as well. Brinkman and Stucker were formerly teammates at the University of Minnesota from 2018-21 while Durflinger will enter his second season with the Heartlanders having played 50 games last season posting 10 goals and 10 assists. The 25-year-old finished the season strong scoring seven of his ten goals between March 18th and April 7th.

Ilya Samsonov Contract Settled Via Arbitration

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Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov has received a $3.55MM award (one-year) in his arbitration case, according to The Athletic’s James Mirtle. Samsonov had filed for $4.9MM, while the Maple Leafs had filed for $2.4MM.

This award comes just under the mid-point between the two parties’ filings and is just a little bit less than the $3.75MM we projected in our detailed breakdown of Samsonov’s arbitration case.

The Maple Leafs don’t have much cap space to work with, especially after signing players such as Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, John Klingberg, and Ryan Reaves to NHL deals this summer.

That’s why they were likely hoping Samsonov’s deal would fall closer to their filing, though those hopes may have been a bit optimistic given Samsonov’s performance.

The 26-year-old 2015 first-rounder made the most of his one-year change-of-scenery deal from last summer, winning the number-one job in head coach Sheldon Keefe’s crease.

In 42 games he went 27-10-5 with a .919 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average. He even helped Toronto to the playoff series victory they’d long been aching for, his 31-save performance in Game Six against Tampa Bay leading the way.

With this decision made, the most important and valuable thing the Maple Leafs have gained is cost certainty. They now know exactly what their expected tandem of Samsonov and Joseph Woll will cost them next season, which will help guide what they do moving forward in the offseason.

They still have Matt Murray on their books at a $4.687MM cap hit, and are likely to pursue avenues to remove Murray’s deal from their cap sheet. A 72-hour buyout window will open for the team to utilize, and buying out Murray would reduce Murray’s cap hit to just $675.5k for next season at a cost of $2MM in dead money in 2024-25.

They could also elect to try to trade Murray, though the modified 10-team no-trade clause he possesses on his contract could make finding a trade at this stage of the offseason difficult.

For Samsonov, this contract is a compromise between what he filed for and what the Maple Leafs wanted to pay. It’s more of an opportunity than anything else, as he’s set himself up to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. If he can have another strong season between the pipes in Toronto, he may set himself up to be the top UFA goalie on the market behind Connor Hellebuyck.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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