At his year-end press conference, Leafs GM Brad Treliving all but confirmed that Ilya Samsonov would not be returning to the club following a very up and down season that saw him placed on waivers in January. Instead, the Leafs will be focused on finding a veteran netminder that can be a mentor to Joseph Woll, who they believe can be a long-term starter.
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Leafs have recently shown interest in Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom. Signed by Treliving 4 years ago to a 6-year deal, Markstrom has two years left that carry at cap hit of $6M per season. Markstrom, as everyone knows, also carries a no-movement clause, meaning he would have to approve a trade.
The front-runner appears to be the New Jersey Devils currently as a reported deadline deal fell through, but it is possible the Leafs swoop in an acquire the 34-year-old right out from under the Devils' noses.
While the Devils are the front-runners, the relationship that Treliving has with Markstrom may help the Leafs in this case, coupled with Markstrom's no-movement clause as the Flames are hesitant to deal with the former Flames GM. Given the number of holes the Leafs and Treliving need to fill, spending one third of their available cap space on a goaltender may not be the wisest way to use it, but the addition would provide stability to the Leafs' crease that they haven't had in years.
