Ilya Samsonov's arbitration award is due this afternoon; here's what a high award would mean for the Leafs

We know that the Leafs had the ability to extend Samsonov as of January 1st, but as ex-GM Kyle Dubas has often done, he decided not to make a hasty decision and decided to use the time that he had ahead of him instead of locking up Samsonov in-season. Now the Leafs may end up paying the price for it.

It was originally thought that Samsonov had filed for arbitration to help the Leafs access a second buyout window, with which to buy out Matt Murray's contract. Well, as it turns out, the real reason he filed was because the team's offer to him was only a modest raise on the $1.8M that he had earned on his "prove it" deal last season. While the Leafs had him pegged as a $2.4M goalie, Samsonov and his camp pushed for a $4.9M deal, which is what the two sides went to arbitration over this week.

The arbitration award is due to be announced this afternoon and regardless of how the decision comes down, at least one side will be disappointed with the decision - possibly both. A low award for Samsonov will have almost certainly soured him on the organization and a large award could mean that the Leafs won't have the financial flexibility to continue to address roster needs this summer, even after a Matt Murray buyout. There's also the possibility that, if the award comes in closer to the $4.9M that Samsonov is requesting, the team could simply keep Matt Murray and roll with a Murray/Woll tandem, walking away from the award and allowing Samsonov to become a free agent immediately.

Obviously, nobody wants Samsonov to walk as a UFA and I don't believe that the Leafs will take that path either way. However, a high award is certainly something that will hamper the Leafs this summer and perhaps even force them to make a trade that they don't want to make, subtracting from the roster in order to free up the type of cap space they'll need for Brad Treliving to continue his summer's work.