Leafs and goaltender Ilya Samsonov reportedly very far apart in salary arbitration filings
Ilya Samsonov signed a 1-year deal last off-season with the Leafs worth $1.8M after the Washington Capitals chose not to qualify him. Samsonov's deal was considered a "prove it" deal and prove it, he did. With Matt Murray missing three months with various injuries, Samsonov took over as the Leafs' number one goalie and played in 42 games. In those 42 games, the 26-year-old netminder went 27-10-5 with a 2.33 GAA, .919 save percentage and 4 shutouts.
It was the second straight season where Samsonov played in more than half of his team's regular season games as he played in 44 games for the Capitals the year prior. His numbers with the Leafs, however, were much better. The Leafs chose to issue a qualifying offer to Samsonov and that gave him the opportunity to file for arbitration, which he did. His hearing is set for Friday and now his asking price has been revealed.
According to Elliotte Friedman, Samsonov's filing shows he is seeking $4.9M per season while the Leafs countered with an offer of just $2.4M. Obviously, there is a significant difference between the two, but is not concerning as teams and players usually file as low and as high as possible with the hopes of an award landing somewhere in the middle.
Elliotte Friedman also reported that the Leafs are looking for a short-term deal with the netminder. Samsonov's filing also positioned the Leafs to have access to a second buyout window which the Leafs could use to buy out Matt Murray.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 19 | 257 ANSWERS Leafs and goaltender Ilya Samsonov reportedly very far apart in salary arbitration filings Will Samsonov's deal end up being closer to his ask ($4.9M) or closer to the Leafs' offer ($2.4M)? | ||
| Closer to $2.4M | 54 | 21 % |
| Closer to $4.9M | 40 | 15.6 % |
| Somewhere in the high 3's | 163 | 63.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
