The Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender and the team couldn't come to terms on an agreement.
The Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender and the team couldn't come to terms on an agreement.
Brad Treliving recalled the unusual circumstances in how he met Ilya Samsonov.
"I said to Ilya as we were going in that it’s a little bit unique that the first time you meet your goaltender is at a courthouse," the Toronto Maple Leafs GM said. "We kind of joked about that."
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Treliving was on the job for a little over a month and was well aware of the season that the Russian goaltender had in his first year with Toronto.
Samsonov posted a 27-10-5 record in 42 games with the Maple Leafs last season. His .919 save percentage was among the best in the NHL. However, figuring out a term and dollar amount for the platter proved to be difficult.
The 26-year-old goaltender joined the Maple Leafs last summer after the Washington Capitals elected not to tender him a qualifying offer. He signed with Toronto for one year at $1.8 million, despite the fact that there were offers for more years from other clubs.
The bet paid off as Samsonov outlasted goaltender Matt Murray and helped the Maple Leafs win their first playoff round as the team's starting netminder until he injured his neck in the second round against the Florida Panthers.
Samsonov elected to file for salary arbitration, which provided a means to an end. But finding a fair deal for both the Maple Leafs and the player proved to be a difficult task.
Once the hearing began on July 21, the negotiating was done and a third party awarded Samsonov a one-year, $3.55 million deal.
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"The reason it got to arbitration is we couldn’t get a deal done, Treliving explained. "You try to get a deal that works for both sides. We couldn’t do that through negotiation, not for lack of trying on both sides. And so you go through the process of arbitration and we were happy with the process."
Samsonov nearly doubled his salary and has the potential to break the bank after this season if he can replicate his numbers. He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season.
But for the Maple Leafs, navigating the right solution on a dollar amount for their goaltending position was tricky. They are tight up against the salary cap and every dollar is being meticulously tracked to ensure compliance before the start of the regular season.
However, arbitration can bring out some hard feelings. There are countless amounts of cases where the arguments made get personal and bad blood could come out as a result of the process.
Treliving insists that wasn't the situation with Samsonov.
"You try to educate quickly with Ilya that this is just the business side of it. We certainly try to conduct our business professionally," Treliving said. "So we had a good chat before and a good chat after. Many chats since. I don’t think anyone should worry about any arbitration scabs or scars lingering. We’re through it and I'm excited to watch him this season.
Samsonov's agent, Don Meehan, told Postmedia's Terry Koshan the same.
"He was well-schooled (in prepping for the arbitration hearing)," Meehan said of Samsonov. "There are no hard feelings with the Leafs, now we move forward."
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