Leafs goaltender officially files for salary arbitration; Leafs still $8M over the cap

As David Alter pointed out with Samsonov filing for arbitration, it will, in effect, open up a second buyout window for the Leafs once the case is settled. That comes into play with Toronto still looking for a way out of Matt Murray's contract.

The first buyout window came and passed, and the Leafs surprisingly didn't opt to buy out their veteran goaltender. The move would've saved them $4 million this year but would've held a dead cap penalty of $2 million in 2024-25.

It's been rumoured that the Leafs are still working the phones to find a trade partner for the final year of Murray's contract and might be willing to add Nick Robertson as the sweetener to seal the deal, according to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta.

Samsonov, on the other hand, signed a "prove it" deal last summer and came out as the Leafs' top netminder with a 27-10-5 record in the regular season with a .919 SV% and a 2.33 G.A.A. He played a vital role in their first series victory since 2003 but stumbled out the blocks against the Florida Panthers before succumbing to injury.

I'd anticipate that the Leafs and Samsonov have already worked on the foundation of a deal that both sides are happy with and that they're still working on the finishing touches. The team will still need to move out a contract in order to sign Sammy to his new deal, as they're already ~$8M over the cap.