Daily Nuggets: Maple Leafs Cap Conundrum

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to find a way to put a square peg in a round hole to become salary cap compliant. After factoring in LTIR candidates, the Maple Leafs are $6.7 million over the salary cap, per CapFriendly.

The Maple Leafs got a bit of good news when the arbitrator awarded goaltender Ilya Samsonov a one-year, $3.55 million contract. Reports suggested Samsonov asked for $4.9 million and the Maple Leafs offered $2.6 million.

How can the Maple Leafs become cap compliant? All eyes are on goaltender Matt Murray who is entering the final year of his contract and carries a cap hit of $4.6 million. Trading Murray is the most likely option for the 29-year-old. The Maple Leafs should not expect a big return for Murray as the other general managers know the Maple Leafs must move on from him.

Stress is mounting for Erik Karlsson to get out of San Jose. “No, I am not (OK staying). I like San Jose, and I like it there, but I’ve never been able to win before. I want that chance now that I’m at the end of my career,” Karlsson told the Swedish outlet Expressen.

Karlsson’s comments will make it even tougher for a deal to get done for the 33-year-old defenseman slated to make $11.5 million for the next four seasons. If Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon ran the San Jose Sharks, Karlsson would have been traded for future considerations two seasons ago.

The Golden Knights held their fourth annual Battle for Vegas Charity Softball Game hosted by Reilly Smith. The event raised over $275,000 for local charities.

The magic number is 271 goals for the Detroit Red Wings. Thirteen of the top 15 scoring teams qualified for the playoffs last season. What is the path for the Red Wings to get to 271 goals?