The Toronto Maple Leafs placed goaltender Ilya Samsonov on waivers, Sunday. The Russian netminder has had an especially rough run in December, allowing 21 goals in his last four starts. That set of games culminated with a 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in which Samsonov allowed six goals on just 21 shots.
Overall this season, Samsonov has posted a 5-2-6 record with a 3.94 goals-against average and a .862 save percentage. The Leafs originally acquired the former first-round draft pick through free agency after the Washington Capitals did not tender him a qualifying offer in July of 2022.
The waiver wire news was first tweeted out by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Ilya Samsonov is on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 31, 2023
Samsonov had Toronto looking like geniuses when, after signing him to a one-year deal, he put up career-bests in save percentage (.919), goals-against average (2.33), and shutouts (4) in 42 appearances. That good work saw Samsonov earn a one-year, $3.55 million contract in arbitration with the Leafs this past offseason.
But, after backstopping the Leafs to their first playoff series win since 2004, the 26-year-old netminder has struggled mightily in his second year in Toronto. Per MoneyPuck, among all qualified NHL goaltenders, Samsonov is dead last in goals saved above expected (-13.3). The “runner-up” to him in that category, Vitek Vanecek (-12) was also cast aside by Washington during the same 2022 offseason.
After the recent loss to Columbus, Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe was very blunt about his goaltender’s play. “It’s the NHL,” Keefe told Sportsnet. “We need saves, we need points, and we need wins, so I’m sure [general manager Brad Treliving] is going to consider everything. Mistakes get magnified when you don’t get saves.
“We gave up 21 shots. So, I don’t know how poor defensively we were. But we made bad mistakes at bad times. Play that game over 100 times, we probably win it 99 times. But we can’t make those type of mistakes with the goaltending, the way Sammy’s going through it right now. We can’t make those mistakes.”
Samsonov’s decline has been precipitous and damaging to Toronto, personified entirely by that loss to the Blue Jackets. In that outing, the Leafs held three separate leads, two of them two-goal leads, before getting sunk in overtime.
The loss was Toronto’s second to the Metropolitan Division’s basement dwellers this season and dropped them to 3-5-3 against the NHL’s bottom seven teams. According to Sportsnet, they rank 29th leaguewide this season when it comes to earning points against the NHL’s worst squads.
On the bright side, at least you're not Ilya Samsonov pic.twitter.com/4HS1twcyNu
— RMNB (@rmnb) December 30, 2023
Samsonov carries a $3.55 million cap hit for the rest of this season. If he goes unclaimed on waivers, the plan is that he will be sent to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Samsonov has not spent any time in the AHL since the 2020-21 season when he got into four games for the Hershey Bears.
If he does indeed get to the Marlies, it doesn’t sound like Toronto has any plans for him to play. Instead, they’re building him a program to try and reignite the form he found with the team last year.
I’m told ; @MapleLeafs to use all resources from development coach, mental skills coach, watch video from yr- a comprehensive approach to help Samsonov feel like himself.” IF he clears waivers, no plans for him to play in games for Marlies this week. #LeafsForever #HockeyX pic.twitter.com/flCGhgQ882
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) December 31, 2023
Friedman also reported on Sunday that the Marlies recalled goaltender Luke Cavallin from ECHL Newfoundland. Should Samsonov make it to the AHL, Leafs 2022 fourth-round draft selection Dennis Hildeby may be going with them on their upcoming California road trip.
