All three player remain restricted free agents.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are retaining the rights to goaltender Ilya Samsonov and forwards Nick Abruzzese and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, the team announced on Friday.

Samsonov was a slam dunk to have his rights retained by the Maple Leafs after a successful first season in Toronto. Signed to a one-year, $1.8 million contract after he went unqualified by the Washington Capitals, the Russian netminder posted a 27-10-5 regular season record with a .919 save percentage.

The 26-year-old is eligible to file for arbitration if it gets to that point.

Abruzzese spent most of the past season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL where he scored 16 goals and had 32 assists in 69 games. The 24-year-old signed with the Leafs late in the 2021-22 season after his NCAA career finished up with Harvard University. In two games with the Maple Leafs this season, Abruzzese had two assists.  

Der-Arguchintsev scored 12 goals and added 28 assists in 50 games with the Marlies last season. He made his NHL debut last season against the Dallas Stars.

Meanwhile, the Leafs declined to tender qualifying offers to defensemen Mac Hollowell, Filip Kral and Victor Mete.

All three defensemen spent time with Toronto last season as the club went through various injuries at the position.

Hollowell had two assists in six games with the Maple Leafs. Mete's season was derailed by a lower-body injury that kept him out for much of the season. The 25-year-old had two assists in 11 games. 

Hollowell and Mete are both listed at 5-foot-9 and it's believed that new Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving is looking to reshape his defense with bigger bodies. This is why it was a bit of a surprise to see 6-foot-2 defenseman Kral not qualified. The Czech defender went through injuries and was limited to just 24 games with the Marlies last season and played two games with the Leafs.

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