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After going through arbitration, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov was awarded a one-year, $3.55 million contract for the 2023-24 season, according to The Athletic's James Mirtle.
Toronto elected to undergo an arbitration hearing Friday, where mediator Stephen Raymond was granted 48 hours to rule on Samsonov’s next contract. Samsonov is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, therefore the maximum term allowable through the arbitration process was one year.
Both parties were leagues away in reaching a mutual agreement prior to arbitration, as the Maple Leafs filed for a $2.4-million salary claim, while Samsonov filed for a $4.9-million claim, as first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Samsonov enters the 2023-24 season as the Maple Leafs’ nominal starter, with Joseph Woll as his backup. Samsonov signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the Maple Leafs for the 2022-23 season — essentially a prove-it deal — after the former first-round pick was cast off by the Washington Capitals. The 26-year-old responded with the best campaign of his career, posting a 27-10-5 record with a .919 save percentage, while saving 18 goals above expected, the 10th-best mark in the NHL.
Samsonov and Matt Murray were brought in by former Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas last season in a calculated bet on the team’s goaltending. Murray was projected as the starter and began the season strong before injuries took a toll on his form. By year’s end, he was No. 3 on the depth chart.
Woll is earmarked as the Maple Leafs’ backup for the 2023-24 season. Samsonov suffered a neck injury during Game 3 of the Maple Leafs’ second-round series against the Florida Panthers and Woll closed out the season admirably.
Toronto is widely reported to be seeking a trade for Murray. This outcome seems highly improbable, however, and it’s expected the Maple Leafs will offer Murray a buyout, where the team will incur a $687,500 cap hit for next season, and a $2 million hit for 2024-25.
On the surface, the Maple Leafs can stomach this tax but the 2024-25 budget must account for Auston Matthews and William Nylander’s imminent extensions, as both franchise cornerstones have yet to sign new deals with one year left on their existing contracts.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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