Samsonov's arbitration case - 1-yr 3.55M
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
With Murray bought out, a 12F/6D roster, Timmins waived and McMann (the cheapest 12th forward option) on the roster the Leafs are still $48k over the cap.
Samsonov getting $3.55mil instead of just $3.5mil will mean we can't keep Lafferty, as things currently stand. That's unforunate.
Samsonov getting $3.55mil instead of just $3.5mil will mean we can't keep Lafferty, as things currently stand. That's unforunate.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Well-known member
Frank is still watching Dodgeball I guess.
lamajama said:
It was just a rumour that the Leafs may not be able to buy Murray out because of injury. I was just wondering what the mechanics were on this because if you had an injury that was going to be healed before the first day of training camp, but you were still suffering from the injury during the buyout window, is that enough to prevent the buyout.
Significantly Insignificant said:
Generally speaking, if a player is injured and would not be medically cleared to play at the time of the buyout then he's not eligible to be bought out. It's prevented teams from buying out players they reportedly wanted to buyout in the past. Some might remember that the Leafs got into a bit of an issue with this a number of years back with Jared Cowen, who the Leafs bought out after acquiring his contract and Cowen disputed the legitimacy of the buyout on the ground that he was hurt. That case ended up having to be resolved by an arbitrator who sided with the Leafs.
So we could possibly see another situation like that happen if Murray is claiming an injury despite being medically cleared for Toronto's last game. Toronto's buyout window will be open for 48 hours starting on Wednesday. Obviously worst case scenario (from a purely Leafs perspective, not the players unfortunately) is Murray is hurt enough to not be eligible for a buyout right now but not hurt enough to be LTIR'd for the entire season.
dappleganger
Active member
Kaberle15 said:
This has to be it, yeah? I don't think Leafs can't afford the assets (or I don't want them to) it'll take to unload Murray.
Who would/could take him and what would be the cost? 2 - 2nd round picks?
Frank E
Active member
Dappleganger said:
I think one of the problems with trading Murray is that as far as I can see he's owed $8m this season...Ottawa owns 25% of that number, so $2m, and Toronto owns $6m...so he's not cheap from a spend perspective even if you acquire him for nothing with a sweetener. I'd have to think the sweetener would have to be pretty substantial to take that money on.
At least, I think I have that correct?
dappleganger
Active member
Frank E said:
That's a great point. Murray's actual money owed is higher than his cap hit this year. Seems like a really tough trade to make.
Frank E said:
$6mil salary plus a 10-team no trade list, which if used correctly could include any team with a plausible interest in acquiring him.
He used his NTC to block a trade to Buffalo last year prior to the Leafs trade. Funny enough I still think that would be a solid landing spot for him. Right now their goalie tandem are both young and inexperienced (Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi). Murray could slide in as an experienced and capable 3rd NHL goalie on the roster who probably spends half the season on the IR anyway giving those two young guys a good balance of being insulated but also plenty of playing time.
Leafs could flip Murray (plus a sweetener) to them for Eric Comrie, their current #3 goalie who had a 0.886 Sv% in limited games last season and has a $1.8mil salary/AAV for 1 more season. That gives Buffalo a better #3 goalie for an additional $4.2mil in salary and about $2.9mil in cap space. All comes down to what kind of sweetener is needed to balance that all out. Realistically Murray, when healthy, would probably be more like their 1A/1B goalie with Levi. It also gives the Leafs someone with NHL experience who will almost certainly get through waivers and be able to come up if (or when) goalie injuries hit.
With Timmins waived/gone and Comrie waived/Marlie'd, a 12F/6D/2G roster with Lafferty puts the team still $9,783 over the cap. Maybe you see if Buffalo could retain $10k of Comrie's contract or something. or Lafferty still needs to go. Of course this scenario isn't possible if Murray uses his NTC again.