How Maple Leafs are stickhandling around salary cap so they can sign Knies

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to dress one pro goalie short in attempt to free the salary-cap space necessary to slip unsigned prospect Matthew Knies onto the team sooner rather than later.

Ilya Samsonov — who played an excellent and demanding game Thursday, a 2-1 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins — is the only healthy, NHL goaltender on the Maple Leafs’ roster heading into their home date Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

No other goaltender’s nameplate was hung over a stall in their dressing room Saturday morning.

Third-stringer Joseph Woll had been up with the big club this week on an emergency recall but was returned to the Marlies to shed his cap hit, temporarily, off the books.

No. 2 netminder Matt Murray cannot be placed on long-term injured reserve because his head injury occurred with fewer than 10 games remaining on the schedule.

He, too, was absent from Saturday’s morning skate, as the Leafs leaned on a pair of local former minor leaguers — Scarborough’s Andrew D’Agostini, 30, and Mississauga’s Brendan Bonello, 24 — to stand in and take practice shots with Murray still on the shelf indefinitely.

Less than two hours before the game, the Leafs signed University of Toronto goalie Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout contract. He will serve as Samsonov's backup Saturday. Not Murray.

“He’s been progressing. He’s had some good days here of late, so thought he was gonna be available to back up here tonight, possibly. So, we’ll see,” Keefe said of Murray.

“That may not be the case here now, but working with the medical team just to figure out exactly where that’s at.”

Has Murray been on the ice since suffering his head injury Sunday?

“He’s not been on the ice, no,” Keefe replied.

So, who is backing up Samsonov if Murray cannot?

“I don’t know because that wasn’t the plan,” Keefe said. "That's out of my hands."

Let’s translate.

The Leafs will dress just one NHL goalie because they’re walking a salary-cap tightrope and plan to sign Knies to an entry-level contract once his University of Minnesota Golden Gophers complete Saturday’s NCAA championship game.

This won’t be the first time Toronto has used a U of T student due to cap restrictions.

Alex Bishop got the ultimate cocktail-party story when he suited up for the Maple Leafs one night in October 2021, after Petr Mrazek fell to injury.

Would the Leafs rather have Woll start Saturday’s meaningless game against the injury-depleted Canadiens? Probably.

In the larger picture, Toronto’s regular-season success and ability to lock up home ice with four games to spare has afforded the organization the leeway to make roster-hindering moves in a game of little consequence.

“The salary cap and roster limitations both provide challenges in terms of what you’re even capable of doing,” said Keefe, speaking in general about playing out the string.

“It’s an 82-game schedule, and you gotta get through it.”

One-Timers: Calle Järnkrok got banged up in Thursday’s loss and is day-to-day with an undisclosed minor injury. He played through whatever was ailing him and finished that game. ... Defencemen T.J. Brodie and Morgan Rielly both get Saturday off for load management. ... Winger Wayne Simmonds was recalled and draws in for what could be his final home game in an NHL regular season. ... Erik Gustafsson returns from attending to his young daughter’s health and gets a shot quarterbacking the top power-play unit. ... Can Ryan O’Reilly be the solution to the sleepy John Tavares–William Nylander duo and jolt a quiet second line?

Maple Leafs projected lines Saturday vs. Montreal Canadiens:

Bunting – Matthews – Marner

Tavares – O’Reilly – Nylander

Kerfoot – Acciari – Simmonds

Aston-Reese – Kämpf – Lafferty

McCabe – Holl

Gustafsson – Schenn

Giordano – Liljegren

Samsonov

Alexander