Ilya Samsonov, who was placed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, will use his time away from the team as a "physical and mental reset," general manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday.
“He’s been assigned to the Marlies (Toronto’s American Hockey League affiliate). He’s not practicing at this stage and is not planning to play with the Marlies at this stage, but we’re using this week to get him some 1-on-1 time," Treliving said prior to the Maple Leafs' 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings. "(Samsonov will) be working with (Marlies goaltending coach) Hannu Toivonen in Toronto, our development team, our performance team off the ice.
“To me, a lot of what we’re seeing, the mental drives the bus a little bit, and it’s hard to correct the physical and maybe the technical side when there’s a lot going on with him. So, we’re trying to let the air out of the balloon a little bit, give him a bunch of support and just let him reset and use this week as that reset.”
Samsonov is 5-2-6 with an NHL career worst in both goals-against average (3.94) and save percentage (.862) in 15 starts this season. The 26-year-old's most recent start with the Maple Leafs came on Friday, when he allowed six goals on 21 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
When asked if Toronto would look to acquire another goalie, Treliving said, “We always look at everything.”
“This has created a situation where we think we have a good goalie," he added. "[Samsonov’s] shown he’s been a good goalie. How do we help him get back to form? In the meantime, the manager always has to do his job of continuing to look at ways to improve the team. Having said that, I checked outside, the goaltender tree was empty. I couldn’t pick one off there today, so we’ll see with a little sun maybe they grow a few more.”
Selected by the Washington Capitals in the first round (No. 22) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Samsonov is 84-34-19 with a 2.77 GAA, .903 save percentage and 11 shutouts in 146 regular-season games (134 starts) with the Capitals and Maple Leafs. He is also 5-10 with a 3.06 GAA and .902 save percentage in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games (16 starts).
Samsonov went 27-10-5 and set NHL career bests in GAA (2.33), save percentage (.919) and shutouts (four) last season, his first with the Maple Leafs after signing a one-year, $1.8 million contract on July 13, 2022.
He was awarded a one-year, $3.55 million contract by an independent arbitrator prior to this season.
Samsonov had been splitting time this season with rookie Joseph Woll, who is 8-5-1 with a 2.80 GAA and .916 save percentage in 15 games (13 starts). Since Woll sustained an ankle injury on Dec. 7, he had been splitting time with veteran Martin Jones, who made 31 saves Tuesday for his second shutout of the season. He is 6-3-0 with a 2.20 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 10 games (eight starts).
“We know we’ve got guys who have shown to be good goaltenders in this league," Treliving said. "We’re working with Ilya to get him back to that form. Joe’s had a great start to the season. We’re working with him to get him healthy, and Martin’s had a good career. Our depth’s being tested in that position. We’re going to work and try to make the guys we’ve got as good as they can be, and we’ll look to see if there are areas that can help us outside.”
