The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ilya Samsonov head to arbitration this upcoming Friday to get a deal in place for the 2023-24 season.
If reports are correct, both the goalie and the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to get an extension done before the arbitrator gets involved.
Elliotte Friedman recently stated on the NHL Network that he believed that the organization wants to keep the deal three years or under.
The former first round pick was not qualified by the Washington Capitals after the 2021-22 season after he posted a 23-12-5 record with a 3.02 GAA and .896 Save Percentage. The Capitals may have given up on a former high end prospect goalie at just 24-years old too soon.
Toronto Maple Leafs Steal a Starting Goalie
The Toronto Maple Leafs scooped in and signed Samsonov to a one-year deal at $1.8 Million which was what the Capitals could have qualified him at.
Samsonov came into the season as the back-up to Matt Murray but stole the crease and set career highs in wins (27), minutes (2,476), along with both goals against average (2.33) and save percentage (.919).
Samsonov would help lead the team to their first playoff round victory in almost 20-years, however injuries ate him up in the playoffs and he was unable to finish the second round series against the Florida Panthers.
The two sides have file their arbitration requests; with Samsonov asking for $4.9M and the Maple Leafs seeking $2.4M. Fans should not read into these numbers very much as it is just posturing and it is most likely they will have an agreement set before hand.
The Maple Leafs have filed at $2.4 million and Samsonov has filed at $4.9 million, what number will they settle at?🤔 pic.twitter.com/KLLDCEFN4u
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) July 19, 2023
When coming up with a contract, their are several comparable goalies that both Samsonov and the Maple Leafs can turn to.
GM Brad Treliving would most likely compare contracts of Stuart Skinner and Kaapo Kähkönen. The Finnish Kähkönen signed a two-year deal last summer with the San Jose Sharks after being acquired the previous deadline. Like Samsonov, Kähkönen was coming off his age 25 season, but his numbers were slightly lower (credit: capfriendly.com).
Skinner has a little less of a track record than Samsonov, however he has been good since becoming a regular in the NHL which resulted in him being a finalist for the Calder Trophy this past year, as well as being named to the All-Rookie Team. His numbers were slightly lower than the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie, however he played on a much less defensive team.
Samsonov will likely want to lean more towards Vitek Vaněček or Ville Husso who both signed deals as unrestricted free agents and at a year older than what Samsonov is currently. Both posted very similar numbers during their last years of their contract.
Vaněček split his season with Samsonov in Washington, however had better numbers and cashed in on free agency. Husso on the other hand really impressed in his first full season in the NHL and received votes for the Vezina trophy. Both those goalies had a bit more leverage than what Samsonov has right now.
The common thread is each of these four goalies all earned thee-year deals, with the exception of Kähkönen (two-year deal).
Contracts:
Vitek Vaněček – Cap Hit 4.12%
Ville Husso – Cap Hit 4.75%
Stuart Skinner – 3.15%
Kaapo Kähkönen – 3.33%
The two sides should be able to come to an agreement on a three year deal around 3.9-4.0% of the cap hit. If that deal is done, the contract could look around three-years at $3.3-$3.5 Million.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans should be able to know the answers in the next few days and can start stressing even more about the club going over the cap.