After a difficult season in Vegas and a year away from the NHL, the former Golden Knights goaltender is getting another opportunity to prove he still belongs at hockey’s highest level.
The Vegas Golden Knights moved on from Ilya Samsonov after one season, and now the former Vegas goaltender is getting another chance to make his way back to the NHL.
The San Jose Sharks announced Friday that they have signed Samsonov to a one-year, two-way contract, bringing the 29-year-old back into the NHL picture after he spent the 2025-26 season playing in Russia.
Samsonov’s most recent NHL season came with Vegas in 2024-25, when he took on a significant role in the crease. He started 29 games and finished with a 16-9-4 record, along with a 2.82 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage.
The record was solid. The save percentage was not.
That .891 mark continued a recent stretch in which Samsonov has struggled to consistently produce at the level expected of an NHL starter. He has posted a save percentage below .900 in three of his last four NHL seasons.
That makes his return to the league something of a reclamation project for San Jose.
Samsonov spent last season with HK Sochi in the KHL, appearing in just 14 games. He finished with a 3.27 GAA, a .903 save percentage and one shutout, leaving the Sharks with a goaltender who has plenty of NHL experience but is coming off two consecutive seasons in which his numbers have slipped.
There is, however, a much more accomplished goaltender somewhere in Samsonov’s history.
Across 200 NHL regular-season appearances, Samsonov has compiled a 118-48-25 record with a 2.77 GAA, a .902 SV% and 15 shutouts. His best season came in Toronto in 2022-23, when he established career highs with 27 wins, a 2.33 GAA and a .919 SV%, adding four shutouts along the way.
That season helped reinforce the belief that Samsonov could develop into a legitimate long-term starter.
His career has never quite followed that trajectory.
After beginning his NHL career with Washington, Samsonov spent two seasons with the Maple Leafs before landing in Vegas. He now joins San Jose following a year away from North American hockey, with the Sharks giving him an opportunity to compete for another NHL job.
The move also brings Samsonov back to the league after a difficult stretch in the postseason. He has appeared in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games during his career, recording a 3.05 GAA and .901 SV%.
There is still plenty of experience for San Jose to work with.
Samsonov originally arrived in North America as a highly regarded prospect after Washington selected him 22nd overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. Before that, he had already established himself in Russia, winning the Gagarin Cup with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 2016.
Over five KHL seasons, Samsonov went 36-24-9 with a 2.37 GAA and .924 SV% across 87 games.
Now, after a season away from the NHL, Samsonov gets another opportunity.
The Sharks are hoping the move can help them uncover the version of Samsonov who once looked capable of becoming a dependable NHL starter. Samsonov, meanwhile, has a chance to show that his recent numbers were a detour rather than the final chapter of his NHL career.
