Leafs reporter reveals 3 contract comparables for Ilya Samsonov in his arbitration case

A recent report from DFO's Frank Seravalli suggested that Samsonov and the Leafs don't appear to be too far apart in these negotiations, but with so few true comparables for Samsonov, it could make things complicated as the two sides look to close the gap and find a number that works for both parties.

Sports Illustrated's David Alter appeared on TSN 1050's Game Play on Monday to discuss the Leafs/Samsonov situtation. Alter mentioned a few comparables that the Leafs and Samsonov could look at to help them on their quest to lock up the RFA goaltender. Alter revealed three goaltenders who signed new deals coming out of restricted free agency whom he feels that the Samsonov camp could use as examples. Those 3 goalies are Jake Oettinger ($4M AAV), Juuse Saros ($5M AAV) and, on the low end, Alexandar Georgiev ($3.6M AAV).

Another interesting thing that Alter had pointed out is that if the Leafs and Samsonov do go through with the arbitration hearing, the award can only be a 1-year deal, since Samsonov is 1 year away from UFA status. Also, that any dollar amount above $4,538,958 that is awarded to Samsonov would mean that the Leafs have the option to walk away from the arb award, which would make Samsonov a UFA. Anything less, and the Leafs would have no choice but to accept the deal.

I fully believe that this is a deal that gets done well ahead of Samsonov's July 21st arbitration case. I believe that Samsonov filing for arbitration was merely a formality so that the Leafs would have a 2nd buyout window open up, which would enable them to buy out Matt Murray's contract if they can't find a trade partner.

As far as what Samsonov's AAV on his new deal will be, that's certainly up for debate, but a number below $4M is likely what the Leafs are looking for, with Samsonov likely pushing for slightly above $4M. We'll see how this all plays out over the next week or so here.