Why Samsonov's Salary expectation isn't as outrageous as people think
The Leafs and Ilya Samsonov were hoping to reach an agreement before today's arbitration hearing got under way. Unfortunately, the two sides were too far apart and now that the case is in front of an arbitrator, they can no longer negotiate and must await an award decision. Heading into the hearing, the Leafs were seeking an AAV for Samsonov of $2.4M while Samsonov countered with an AAV of $4.9M.
Many saw Samsonov's ask as outrageous because he was coming off of a 1-year, $1.8M deal and it was the best season of his career. This is typical in an arbitration filing however, with the player aiming for a higher salary while the team wants to keep it as low as possible and then they both hope to meet in the middle. However, in this instance, Samsonov's asking price of $4.9M is not as outrageous as some may think when you compare it to other goalies across the league.
The ask of $4.9M would have Samsonov ranked T-20th on the list for highest paid goalies in the league. Meeting in the middle at around $3.65M would rank him 29th and if the Leafs' ask of $2.4M was awarded, he would be ranked 39th, as Leafs Nation News pointed out on Friday.
Considering Samsonov was much better than the 20th through 32nd ranked goalies this past season, and in some instances better than the likes of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck among others, perhaps we should be a little more open and understanding with his ask. He ranked fifth in GAA, T-6th in save percentage and 11th in wins, so asking for a middle-bottom of the league salary for a starting goalie seems pretty reasonable on his end.
For the Leafs, even at $4.9M (and the award will almost certainly be lower), it will only be for 1-year as Samsonov is just a year away from UFA status (as per arbitration rules in CBA) and they can continue to negotiate an extension throughout the season if he plays well. If the Leafs feel they are unhappy or want to go a different direction, they can simply let him walk next summer.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 21 | 415 ANSWERS Why Samsonov's Salary expectation isn't as outrageous as people think Do you think Ilya Samsonov at $4.9M for 1 year would be outlandish? | ||
| Yes, too much money, unproven goalie | 243 | 58.6 % |
| No, it's probably pretty fair | 67 | 16.1 % |
| It's fair, but the Leafs can't afford fair here | 96 | 23.1 % |
| Don't care | 9 | 2.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
