Arbitration date officially set for Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov

In 42 games with the Leafs last season, Samsonov posted 4 shutouts to go along with a .919 save percentage and 2.33 GAA while holding a 27-10-5 record. He followed up a solid regular season by helping the Leafs get out of the first round for the first time in 19 years. While his numbers were not great in the playoffs, going 4-4 with an .898 save percentage and 3.13 GAA, he played well enough to give the Leafs a chance to win and kept them in every single game. Unfortunately, they just could not score.

With Samsonov now a restricted free agent, the Russian netminder opted to file for salary arbitration with a reported ask of between $4M and $5M per season. As you can imagine, the Leafs are probably coming in with a much lower offer, but as is often the case, the two sides will still have a chance to settle prior to Samsonov's arbitration date.

Until today, we did not know when Samsonov's arbitration case would be. Now, the date has been set for his hearing, which will take place on July 21st. That means we should have a resolution for Samsonov's next contract very soon and once that happens, the second buyout window will open for the Leafs. When that happens, if Matt Murray hasn't been traded, he'll likely be bought out.

We, as sports writers, understand just how tough it's been to come by that juicy Maple Leafs news that we all crave, even during the summer months. Once the Samsonov settlement or arbitration award is announced and once Murray is bought out, we should have some more exciting things to talk about, as Brad Treliving has already stated that he's working to address what he perceives is a need on the blueline in Toronto. We also have the Auston Matthews and William Nylander extensions to look forward to as well.