The Players Used in Leafs and Samsonov's Arbitration Discussions are Revealed
The Toronto Maple Leafs recently went to arbitration with goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who was officially awarded $3.55 million, and now a surprising detail from those talks has officially been released.
Lofty comparisons for Samsonov
While it's not usually a detail that is leaked, we have now learned the comparisons both sides have used during these talks, and it's safe to say that Samsonov's side had quite lofty comparisons for himself.
According to Toronto Sports reporter David Alter, despite having just 131 games of experience (only 42 in 2022-23), Samsonov's side used Juuse Saros and Jake Oettinger as comparables, with their number set at $4.9 million.
The Maple Leafs side
The Maple Leafs were seemingly much more realistic with their comparisons, as they used both Vitek Vanecek and Alexandar Georgiev, who's career numbers are much more comparable to Samsonov at this stage of his young career.
Ultimately, the arbitrator settled at $3.55 million for Samsonov ahead of the 2023-24 season, so now he and the Maple Leafs will head into the season with lofty goals, hoping that he can live up to the number he was given as they chase another Stanley Cup.
As Read on Blade of Steel - The comparisons used during arbitration between the Leafs, Samsonov have been revealed
| POLL | ||
Was the $3.55 fair value for Ilya Samsonov? | ||
| Yes | 971 | 77.7 % |
| No | 279 | 22.3 % |
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