Maple Leafs Uncertain Backup Goaltending Plan for Canadiens and How Matthew Knies Factors In
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe says the club doesn’t know who will back up Ilya Samsonov against the Canadiens tonight. But there’s a bit more to it.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are unsure of who will back up Ilya Sasmonov when they host the Canadiens in their final home game of the regular season against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
Late Friday evening, the Maple Leafs sent Joseph Woll down to the Toronto Marlies and called up Wayne Simmonds, leaving just Samsonov and Matt Murray as the only goaltenders on the team’s active roster.
Murray was injured on April 2 when Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond slid into the goaltender. The 28-year-old goaltender was diagnosed with a head injury while also dealing with "other stuff" according to Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
"He’s progressing and had some good days here of late. The thought was he was going to be available to back up here tonight possibly," Keefe said of Murray on Saturday morning. "It may not be the case here now but we’re working with the medical team to figure out exactly where that’s at."
Keefe confirmed that Murray had not been on the ice since the injury. It seems a little odd that the Leafs would send Woll down while Murray was still hurt, but there's a bit more to it.
As of Saturday morning, the Maple Leafs have just $38,750 in salary cap space available according to CapFriendly.com. Because Murray was injured with less than 10 games remaining in the regular season, the goaltender is not eligible to be placed on long-term injured reserve for cap relief.
With Maple Leafs prospect Matthew Knies's collegiate season ending later today, the NHL club is not in a position where they'd be able to add him to their NHL roster due to a lack of space.
If Murray cannot back up Samsonov tonight, the Leafs could possibly play short at the goaltending position for tonight and have an emergency backup goaltender dress against the Canadiens. After playing a game short, the Leafs would be permitted to add an additional player on an emergency basis with a salary cap hit of $850,000 or less.
It's not an unprecedented situation. On Oct. 16, 2021, the Leafs dressed a player short by having University of Toronto goaltender Alex Bishop dress as their backup against the Ottawa Senators.
Toronto was then able to temporarily go over the salary cap once officially dressing one player short.
What the Leafs could then do after the game against the Canadiens is sign Knies to an entry-level contract twith an AAV of $850,000, call up Woll and send Simmonds back to the Marlies.
Of course, if Murray can back up, everything fits fine. The Leafs could just send Simmonds down and sign Knies to an ELC and add him to their roster. But Murray backing up seems like a stretch, given the nature of the goaltender's injuries.
Another possibility is the Leafs don't sign Knies for this season. Due to the nature of the rules, if Toronto signs Knies for this season, he is ineligible to be stashed away to the Toronto Marlies until 2023-24.
UPDATE: Two hours before the game, the Maple Leafs signed U of T goaltender Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout and he will dress as Ilya Samsonov's backup against the Canadiens.
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