<p>The Leafs have finished assembling their goaltending by adding an intriguing young option.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hearing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Leafs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Leafs</a> have agreed to terms with G Ilya Samsonov on a 1-year, $1.8 million deal.</p>
<p>Toronto has their guy to play alongside Matt Murray in tandem next season.<a href="https://twitter.com/DailyFaceoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyFaceoff</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href="https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1547249770120593411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>@Ilya Samsonov is a former first-round pick in the 2015 draft, who has spent the first three seasons of his career with the Capitals. While he showed significant promise in his rookie campaign, he had a rough go in his first full year as the undisputed starter. With a reported cap hit of $1.8 million on his one-year deal, that brings the Leafs&#8217; cap hit down to $5.3 million.</p>
<p>He finished 2021-22 with a 23-12-5 record, a .896 SV%, and a 3.02 GAA. He also started five playoff games where he registered a .912 SV% and a 2.97 GAA in that span.</p>
<p><strong>Related:</strong></p>
<blockquote><p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/11/ilya-samsonov-is-heading-for-free-agency-and-could-be-the-best-option-for-the-maple-leafs/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Ilya Samsonov is heading for free agency and could be the best option for the Maple Leafs</a></p></blockquote>
<p>When the Leafs <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/11/the-leafs-have-acquired-matt-murray-from-the-sens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made the move to trade</a> for @Matt Murray on Monday, it quickly became apparent that there would need to be another goalie added into the mix as a quality insurance policy. Murray no doubt <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/12/matt-murray-has-something-to-prove-as-he-enters-new-chapter-with-maple-leafs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has the potential to be a solid bounce-back candidate</a> as he posted impressive numbers <a href="https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2022/07/11/does-matt-murray-make-sense-for-the-maple-leafs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over his first 18 games</a> before struggling mightily in his final two where he gave up a combined 13 goals, but the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/10/friedman-matt-murray-talks-intensifying-between-the-leafs-and-sens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biggest question mark</a> is whether he can stay healthy. It would have been short-sighted if they only went with him and one of @Erik Kallgren or @Joseph Woll as their tandem for a critical 2022-23 season.</p>
<p>Adding Samsonov into the mix makes things much more intriguing. He is only seven years removed from being taken 22nd overall by Washington and having a solid three-year stretch in the KHL where he went a combined 33-16-9, with seven shutouts, a .929 SV%, and a 2.16 GAA. Much like with the acquisition of Murray, signing Samsonov comes with a lot of risks and he could sputter just as likely as he could regain his form. It also allows Kallgren and Woll to spend the year with the Marlies so they have more time to develop their games and lessen the pressure on them to perform for a team with big aspirations in the spring.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ilya Samsonov is going to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs per <a href="https://twitter.com/StapeAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StapeAthletic</a>. This could be low risk-high reward sign for the Maple Leafs. Ilya Samsonov is still young goalie and has a high upside. <a href="https://t.co/lwVdtozHzE">pic.twitter.com/lwVdtozHzE</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Andy &amp; Rono (@ARHockeyStats) <a href="https://twitter.com/ARHockeyStats/status/1547240999466029056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The Leafs could have easily gone with experience and added more established names such as @Jaroslav Halak, @Martin Jones, @James Reimer, or @Cam Talbot. Instead, they chose Samsnonov because of his youth, potential, and pedigree in the KHL. I would also imagine how Kyle Dubas treated players such as @Ilya Mikheyev and @Ilya Lyubishkin could have also factored into his decision.</p>
<p>My not too early prediction for how Sheldon Keefe may rotate between Murray and Samsonov would be similar to what they hoped to achieve heading into 2021-22 with @Jack Campbell and @Petr Mrazek: a 1A/1B tandem. Who gets more starts will be affected by health, but also who shows more consistency over the course of the campaign.</p>
<p>Now that the goaltending has been addressed, the next order of business is adding to their forward core, shedding some salary, and giving @Pierre Engvall and @Rasmus Sandin their extension. It should make for an exciting opening day to 2022 free agent frenzy.</p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="VIf5FcIFyB"><p><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/13/tln-free-agency-live-blog-reacting-to-moves-all-around-the-nhl/">TLN Free Agency Live Blog: Reacting to moves all around the NHL</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="&#8220;TLN Free Agency Live Blog: Reacting to moves all around the NHL&#8221; &#8212; TheLeafsNation" src="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/13/tln-free-agency-live-blog-reacting-to-moves-all-around-the-nhl/embed/#?secret=VIf5FcIFyB" data-secret="VIf5FcIFyB" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><em>Stats from <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Hockey-Reference.com</a> and <a href="http://naturalstattrick.com/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Natural Stat Trick</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Salary information from <a href="https://puckpedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">PuckPedia.com</a>.</em></p>
<p><strong>More from <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">TheLeafsNation.com</a></strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/09/goaltending-is-number-one-priority-for-maple-leafs-ahead-of-free-agency/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Goaltending is the number one priority heading into free agency</a> by Nick Barden</li>
<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/09/reviewing-the-leafs-2022-nhl-draft-class/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Reviewing the Leafs’ 2022 Draft Class</a> by Nick Richard</p>
</li>
<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/09/ondrej-kase-will-cost-too-much-to-return-to-the-leafs-most-likely/" rel="bookmark follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Ondrej Kaše will cost too much to return to the Leafs, most likely</a> by Ryan Hobart</p>
</li>
</ul>
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The Leafs have finished assembling their goaltending by adding an intriguing young option.

https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1547249770120593411

@Ilya Samsonov is a former first-round pick in the 2015 draft, who has spent the first three seasons of his career with the Capitals. While he showed significant promise in his rookie campaign, he had a rough go in his first full year as the undisputed starter. With a reported cap hit of $1.8 million on his one-year deal, that brings the Leafs' cap hit down to $5.3 million.

He finished 2021-22 with a 23-12-5 record, a .896 SV%, and a 3.02 GAA. He also started five playoff games where he registered a .912 SV% and a 2.97 GAA in that span.

<strong>Related:</strong>
<blockquote><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/11/ilya-samsonov-is-heading-for-free-agency-and-could-be-the-best-option-for-the-maple-leafs/" rel="v:url follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Ilya Samsonov is heading for free agency and could be the best option for the Maple Leafs</a></blockquote>
When the Leafs <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/11/the-leafs-have-acquired-matt-murray-from-the-sens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">made the move to trade</a> for @Matt Murray on Monday, it quickly became apparent that there would need to be another goalie added into the mix as a quality insurance policy. Murray no doubt <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/12/matt-murray-has-something-to-prove-as-he-enters-new-chapter-with-maple-leafs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has the potential to be a solid bounce-back candidate</a> as he posted impressive numbers <a href="https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2022/07/11/does-matt-murray-make-sense-for-the-maple-leafs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">over his first 18 games</a> before struggling mightily in his final two where he gave up a combined 13 goals, but the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/10/friedman-matt-murray-talks-intensifying-between-the-leafs-and-sens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biggest question mark</a> is whether he can stay healthy. It would have been short-sighted if they only went with him and one of @Erik Kallgren or @Joseph Woll as their tandem for a critical 2022-23 season.

Adding Samsonov into the mix makes things much more intriguing. He is only seven years removed from being taken 22nd overall by Washington and having a solid three-year stretch in the KHL where he went a combined 33-16-9, with seven shutouts, a .929 SV%, and a 2.16 GAA. Much like with the acquisition of Murray, signing Samsonov comes with a lot of risks and he could sputter just as likely as he could regain his form. It also allows Kallgren and Woll to spend the year with the Marlies so they have more time to develop their games and lessen the pressure on them to perform for a team with big aspirations in the spring.

https://twitter.com/ARHockeyStats/status/1547240999466029056

The Leafs could have easily gone with experience and added more established names such as @Jaroslav Halak, @Martin Jones, @James Reimer, or @Cam Talbot. Instead, they chose Samsnonov because of his youth, potential, and pedigree in the KHL. I would also imagine how Kyle Dubas treated players such as @Ilya Mikheyev and @Ilya Lyubishkin could have also factored into his decision.

My not too early prediction for how Sheldon Keefe may rotate between Murray and Samsonov would be similar to what they hoped to achieve heading into 2021-22 with @Jack Campbell and @Petr Mrazek: a 1A/1B tandem. Who gets more starts will be affected by health, but also who shows more consistency over the course of the campaign.

Now that the goaltending has been addressed, the next order of business is adding to their forward core, shedding some salary, and giving @Pierre Engvall and @Rasmus Sandin their extension. It should make for an exciting opening day to 2022 free agent frenzy.

https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/13/tln-free-agency-live-blog-reacting-to-moves-all-around-the-nhl/

<em>Stats from <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer external nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Hockey-Reference.com</a> and <a href="http://naturalstattrick.com/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer nofollow" data-wpel-link="external">Natural Stat Trick</a>.</em>

<em>Salary information from <a href="https://puckpedia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">PuckPedia.com</a>.</em>

<strong>More from <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">TheLeafsNation.com</a></strong>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/09/goaltending-is-number-one-priority-for-maple-leafs-ahead-of-free-agency/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Goaltending is the number one priority heading into free agency</a> by Nick Barden</li>
 	<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/09/reviewing-the-leafs-2022-nhl-draft-class/" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Reviewing the Leafs’ 2022 Draft Class</a> by Nick Richard</p>
</li>
 	<li>
<p class="entry-title"><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/2022/07/09/ondrej-kase-will-cost-too-much-to-return-to-the-leafs-most-likely/" rel="bookmark follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Ondrej Kaše will cost too much to return to the Leafs, most likely</a> by Ryan Hobart</p>
</li>
</ul>
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Report: Ilya Samsonov is signing with the Leafs

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