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As expected, Toronto Maple Leafs restricted free agent goaltender Ilya Samsonov filed for salary arbitration on Wednesday. The 26-year-old had a career year 27-10-5 record, 2.33 GAA, and .919 save % last season and led the Leafs past the Tampa Bay Lightning for their first playoff series victory in 19 seasons.
After not being qualified and signed by Toronto to a one-year, $1.8 million deal last summer, Samsonov is one year away from unrestricted free agency, which means he will get a one-year deal out of arbitration or agree to a settlement for one year or more. Based on the changes made to Leafs management over the last month, it is likely that Toronto will want a one-year deal that will walk Samsonov to free agency since that will keep the salary ask reasonably low.
The salary range on a settlement is likely between $3.5-to-4.5 million, putting Samsonov’s cap hit in the same neighborhood as the buyout of Matt Murray’s final season. The Leafs save $4 million in cap space in year one if they buy out Murray, but indications are that GM Brad Treliving is still trying to deal the two-time Cup winner before the second buyout window opens after Samsonov’s arbitration hearing later this month or in early August.
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Last month, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment chairman Larry Tanenbaum reportedly planned to divest himself of most of his holdings in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (the sports conglomerate that consists of the Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC of MLS, the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts) to OMERS(the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System), but the two major communication companies; Bell Canada and Rogers Communications (who own equal majority shares of 37.5%) have a right of first refusal to purchase any shares in the company.
According to the Globe and Mail, Bell and Rogers have expressed reservations about the proposed sale and are attempting to put a halt to the proposed sale of 20% of Tanenbaum’s holding company, Kilmer Sports Inc.