Équipe: 2023-24 Maple Leafs de Toronto

Date de création initiale: 26 mai 2023

Publié: 26 mai 2023

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

I see a lot of people trading Murray for the purpose of freeing up cap space, just so we can sign Samsonov to a long-term deal at a similar cap hit. People quickly forget just how bad Samsonov was before this season. Not to mention he's never played more than 42 games in his career. He isn't a reliable starter in my opinion, and signing him long-term could be detrimental to our future cap situation considering the odds of him reproducing the season he just had is very, very unlikely.

On the other hand, I know you can't rely on Murray's availability. I'll say this; after seeing former star goaltenders regress significantly for long periods (Price and Bobrovsky), and then take over once they get an opportunity in the playoffs, call me crazy, but I would keep Murray. Sure, Samsonov will probably give you a better chance of making the playoffs, but he's not a guy that can take you to the promise land. Murray can be that guy, and if he's not, then he walks next off-season. We won't have to spend any assets or lose $2 million against the cap after buying him out.

Putting your trust in Woll is certainly a leap of faith and doesn't feel comfortable, but it isn't too different to how the team has operated regarding their goaltending situation the past couple seasons.