Arbitrator awards goaltender Ilya Samsonov one-year, $3.55M deal with Maple Leafs

Goaltender Ilya Samsonov has been awarded a one-year, $3.55-million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs by an independent arbitrator.

The sides were well apart when exchanging numbers prior to the hearing, which took place Friday. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs were asking for a $2.4-million salary to be awarded, while Samsonov was asking for $4.9 million.

Samsonov joined the Maple Leafs on a one-year, $1.8-million contract last season. He opened the season in tandem with Matt Murray but took over the net by mid-season and started for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs.

Samsonov, 26, had a career-high .919 save percentage last season and a 27-10-5 record in 42 games.

The injury-prone Murray remains on the roster, along with Joseph Woll, who started two games in place of an injured Samsonov in Toronto’s second-round playoff series loss to the Florida Panthers last season.