Maple Leafs Denied Goaltending Salary-Cap Exemption, Sign Another ATO Goalie to Backup Ilya Samsonov
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed goaltender Nick Chenard to an amateur tryout agreement after the NHL had denied their request for salary cap-exempt goaltending recall.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said Matt Murray remains unavailable to back up Samsonov on Monday and will likely not be available on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was believed the Maple Leafs would be permitted to use to call up another goaltender after signing University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout.
The Maple Leafs had Joseph Woll on their roster on Friday when they sent him down to the Toronto Marlies in exchange for Wayne Simmonds. On Saturday morning, the Leafs said they thought Matt Murray would be available to back up but that no longer appeared to be the case. Toronto then signed University of Toronto goaltender Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout to back up Samsonov against the Montreal Canadiens.
Murray has been out since Apr. 2 with a head injury.
After dressing short a goaltender on Saturday, the Leafs had cap space to sign prospect Matthew Knies. The forward is set to make his NHL debut when the Leafs take on Florida. It's believed that Toronto would have been permitted to call up a goaltender following that move under an emergency exception.
While the details are not clear at this point, it's possible the Leafs may have been deemed to have created their emergency situation after signing Knies.
Chenard just completed his season with the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL. The 21-year-old goaltender was 14-16-3 with an .873 save percentage.
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