The Toronto Maple Leafs and restricted free agent goaltender Ilya Samsonov are set for an arbitration hearing Friday, July 21 unless both sides agree on a new contract before then. According to a report Wednesday from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both sides have made their filings. The Leafs have come in at $2.4M, while Samsonov has come in at $4.9M.
Samsonov, 26, has some leverage coming off the best season of his career. After the Washington Capitals chose not to extend him a qualifying offer in summer 2022, the Leafs took a chance on the 2015 first-rounder and former elite prospect with a one-year deal at a $1.8M AAV, pairing him with another new addition in Matt Murray. As Murray battled injuries and inconsistency, Samsonov gradually wrested the No. 1 job from him this past season. Starting a career-high 40 games, Samsonov went 27-10-5 with a 2.33 goals-against average and four shutouts. His .919 save percentage placed him sixth in the NHL among qualified leaders. Among 55 netminders who played 1,000 or more minutes at 5-on-5, he ranked ninth in goals saved above average per 60.
Samsonov delivered an uneven performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs, particularly at home, but he also came up with some heroic clutch efforts in Round 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He stopped every shot he faced across the Leafs’ three road overtime wins in that series, helping Toronto advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 19 years. Samsonov suffered a neck injury from a collision during Game 3 of Toronto’s second-round series against the Florida Panthers and ceded the net to rookie Joseph Woll.
Arbitration awards come in at one or two years. In Samsonov’s case, the award would be one year because he’s one season away from becoming an unrestricted free agent.
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