The Vegas Golden Knights have signed Russian goaltender, Ilya Samsonov to a new contract, a one-year deal with terms yet to be disclosed. Samsonov has been a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past two seasons. He signed one-year deals in back-to-back seasons with the Leafs. Once under former General Manager, Kyle Dubas and the other with current GM, Brad Treliving. Samsonov’s most recent contract was worth $3.55M AAV.
Hearing that goalie Ilya Samsonov is signing 1-year deal with Vegas Golden Knights #VegasBorn
— Mikhail Zislis (@MikhailZislis) July 1, 2024
Vegas Signs Ilya Samsonov Contract
Samsonov had an excellent season in his first term for Toronto. He posted a .919 save percentage and 2.33 GAA in 2022-23. Also, he led the Maple Leafs past the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs. That was the first time the Leafs saw the second round of the playoffs since 2004.
However, this past season was not the same story for Samsonov. There were many moments in the year where he had a bad run of performances. While Joseph Woll was injured in the season, Martin Jones had to step in as the backup to Samsonov. However, there were moments where Jones was picked to start over Samsonov, given the form the goaltenders were in. At one point in the season, Samsonov wasn’t playing to the standards of his contract and was placed on waivers to give him a ‘reset’. The reset seemed to benefit Samsonov because, through two months after returning from waivers, his save percentage was .912%.
Fast-forward to the playoffs where the Leafs fell short to the Boston Bruins in a first-round series that went the distance. Samsonov played games one to four and was dropped for the next two and replaced by Woll. However, Woll picked up an injury at the end of game six and was forced to miss game seven. Samsonov was needed more than ever. He put up a respectful performance in their overtime loss, only two goals conceded and a .938 save percentage. Although, many fans believe that David Pastrnak‘s game-winning goal was at the fault of Samsonov for not playing the puck.
There’s Still Promise in Samsonov
While the 22nd overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft didn’t have an outstanding season by any means, there’s still some promise there. Samsonov just needs to work on his consistency, because there are definitely moments in a season and spurts of great goaltending from him. There is hope in Samsonov with this new contract.
Main Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
