Insider comments on Leafs goaltending situation before the draft and free agency
The writing has been on the "Woll" for Matt Murray since the start of the playoffs and his fate was all but sealed when the Leafs elected to start Joseph Woll in Game 5 against Florida instead of turning to the 2-time Stanley Cup champ. Now, the Leafs and Brad Treliving need to find a creative way to get out of the final year of Murray's contract while also finding common ground with Ilya Samsonov on a new deal.
TSN's Darren Dreger was on Leafs Morning Take today and was asked about current negotiations with Samsonov.
"I'm confident something is going to get done with the Leafs. They have to believe it'll be in the 4's on AAV but the term can't be overly daunting for the Leafs. Samsonov is a priority, but if you're Ilya Samsonov, you're probably looking at a shorter term anyways so that he can prove on a real big stage that he's a real number one and cash in 3, 4 years down the road."
Dreger is not far off on the AAV for Samsonov as Evolving Hockey has predicted an AAV for Samsonov between $4M and $5M on a 3 or 4 year contract, which is why it is important for the Leafs to find a way to detach themselves from Murray's final year and its $4.68M AAV. Speaking of Murray, Dreger also touched on how difficult it could be for the Leafs to find their way out of his contract.
"It's going to be a challenge. I don't see how Toronto gets out from under that contract unless there's an ailment for LTIR. I don't think Toronto is going to wanna throw in a sweetener to make a deal with a team to take Murray. I think when we look at goaltending we all see Samsonov and Woll as the tandem next season."
If the Leafs can't find a trade or feel the asking price of a sweetener to take on Murray's cap hit is too high, the Leafs have the option, as we've mentioned previously, to buyout the final year to free up $4M in cap space this season while taking a $2M cap hit next season when the cap rises significantly. This has been the most likely option for a while now and the longer it takes the Leafs to trade him, the more likely we will see him bought out after the draft.
