Leafs' pending RFA expresses his desire to get a deal done to remain in Toronto
During yesterday's season-ending press conference, a large volume of players spoke with the media on what was locker room cleanout day for the players. We heard from all of the Core 4, Morgan Rielly, Michael Bunting, Ryan O'Reilly and a slew of others, including netminder Ilya Samsonov, who provided some details about the nature of his injury and spoke to his future in Toronto.
Samsonov revealed that the collision with teammate Luke Schenn in Game 3 of the Leafs/Panthers series had actually caused a neck injury. Samsonov was pulled from the game and rookie netminder Joseph Woll manned the crease the rest of the way. Unfortunately, the Buds came up short of their goal and are now left to pick up the pieces.
Most everyone who spoke was adamant that they'd like to remain with the team, but as we know, there are more than likely some pretty substantial changes coming as the ownership and management continue to push towards winning a Stanley Cup. All four of the team's highest paid forwards openly declared that they want to return, as did some of the team's newcomers like Luke Schenn and Noel Acciari. Samsonov also wants to remain a Leaf.
Samsonov signed a 1-year "show me" deal with the Leafs last summer, and show them he did. Samsonov posted a career best 27-10-5 record, which went nicely with his career best 2.33 GAA and .919 SV% in 42 appearances this past season.
Obviously, this one is going to come down to the AAV more than anything else. I think the Leafs really liked what they saw from the 26-year-old netminder, both in his play and in his attitude. It's early yet to say what will happen this summer, but it's very possible that we could see Samsonov and Woll as next year's tandem, with Murray riding it out on LTIR or being dealt to another team this summer as the Leafs will likely want to shed or bury his $4.687M cap hit.
| POLL | ||
16 MAI | 815 ANSWERS Leafs' pending RFA expresses his desire to get a deal done to remain in Toronto Would you like to see Samsonov back with the Leafs next season? | ||
| Yes, re-sign him at all costs | 301 | 36.9 % |
| No, let Woll take the reins | 98 | 12 % |
| Depends on the price | 416 | 51 % |
| List of polls | ||
