Leafs Reluctant To Offer Top Goalie A Big Deal
The Leafs are heading into this offseason with many questions yet to be answered with one of the biggest being their future in net.
Leafs Hesitant to Give Samsonov Large Contract
Ilya Samsonov had a career year in his first season with the Leafs. Posting a 2.33 GAA and a .919 sv%, Samsonov proved he could be the Leafs future in net. However, despite his strong performance last year, the Leafs are hesitant to give him a long-term extension.
Graphic via @puckempire on Instagram
According to AFP Analytics, Samsonov is projected to get a 4-year deal worth just a hair over $20 million in total. This comes to an AAV of about $5 million a year which is pretty fair for a goalie who plays like Samsonov did last year.
Does Samsonov Deserve a Large Contract?
However, the Leafs are hesitant due to how he is a streaky goalie and has yet to display sustained success as a starter. This could result in the Leafs signing Samsonov to a short deal such as a one-year $3 million deal. This would give the Leafs an opportunity to see how he performs next year and then pay him accordingly.
This could backfire though as a one-year deal walks him directly to unrestricted free agency where he could walk for absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, the Leafs have a difficult decision to make and will need to make sure they dot all of their I's and cross all of their T's.
| POLL | ||
Should the Leafs pay Samsonov now or give him a short contract? | ||
| Pay him now | 544 | 35.2 % |
| Give him a one year deal | 1000 | 64.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
