The Toronto Maple Leafs had added some insurance in the event that Matt Murray is not the solution in goal.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had added some insurance in the event that Matt Murray is not the solution in goal.
The Leafs have agreed to terms with goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $1.8 million contract, as first reported by DailyFaceoff.com’s Frank Seravalli.
The 25-year-old played 44 games with the Washington Capitals last season, posting a 23-12-5 record with a career-worst .896 save percentage.
The the Capitals expected to substantially upgrade their position in goal. Washington decided on Monday not to tender their young goaltender a qualifying offer, allowing him to hit the open market.
“The thing that really stood out to me more than anything was that he really wanted it to be a one-year show me, bet-on-yourself type deal, which is not always common with players coming of this shock of being non Q-O’d when he wasn’t expecting it,” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said of signing Samsonov. “That was impressive to me and combined with the evaluation of our goaltending department of what he can become if we can work with him, get him and get him on the right track.”
For the Maple Leafs, this makes sense as he will now be set in goal in a tandem spot with Matt Murray. Toronto acquired Murray in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Monday. The Leafs also picked up a third and seventh round pick from the Sens, while Ottawa retained 25 per cent of Murray’s $6.25 million salary cap hit.
The Maple Leafs’ previous starting goaltender, Jack Campbell, signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
Toronto now has $6.4875 million in cap commitments to their goaltending tandem. The Maple Leafs are still taking a big swing in goal, but Samsonov’s one-year risk combined with Murray’s two-year commitment makes it more palatable.
Samsonov also comes with eight games of playoff experience, however he only has just one win to show for it.
Samsonov was selected by the Capitals in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.