Maple leafs rumours8/13/2023 ![]() ![]() Abruzzese, 24, fits that profile after a strong first season as a full-time pro. Might Toronto prefer to add a proven veteran in their crease? And if so, is there going to be enough cap space to re-sign Samsonov to the type of contract his play has merited?į Nick Abruzzese – With such a sizeable portion of the Maple Leafs’ salary cap space set aside to pay for the team’s core of star players, Toronto will need cheap, energetic, competent players to fill spots lower in their lineup. The general manager that signed him, Kyle Dubas, is no longer with the organization and the new general manager, Brad Treliving, is coming from a team that has an established veteran netminder in Jacob Markstrom. He’s earned himself a solid pay raise from his $1.8MM deal, but since he has a relatively inconsistent track record he might not be the safest long-term investment.Īs for his future in Toronto, there are some questions to answer. While he didn’t quite play up to par against the Florida Panthers (like the rest of his team, to be fair) and had his series end early due to injury, his 2022-23 season could be seen as serving as a major turning point for his career and a moment where he has resurrected his reputation as an up-and-coming netminder. ![]() While his playoff performances as a Washington Capital were cause for significant concern, Samsonov’s play in the Maple Leafs’ first-round playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning helped Toronto get the playoff series win they’d been long searching for. 919 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against-average. He led Toronto netminders with 42 games played and posted a strong. The team signed him to a one-year $1.8MM deal and he ended up rewarding the team’s faith considerably. Samsonov, now 26, had been exiled from the Washington Capitals after a disappointing 2021-22 season that included some major errors in some high-leverage moments.ĭrafted 22nd overall at the 2015 draft, Samsonov was once believed to be the Capitals’ goalie of the future but his inconsistency and inability to seize the void left in Washington’s crease by Braden Holtby’s departure led to him being available for Toronto to snag as an unrestricted free agent. G Ilya Samsonov – The Maple Leafs took a significant risk on Samsonov, trusting him to potentially be their number-one goalie in a season where enormous pressure was placed on the team to finally go on an extended playoff run. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Toronto Maple Leafs. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. ![]()
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