Ilya Samsonov has played his last game as a Maple Leaf
Per latest report from Daily Face-off:
Chatter is getting louder that the Toronto Maple Leafs could go goalie shopping this summer, and that’s certainly what Matt Larkin of Daily Face-Off believes when he put netminder Ilya Samsonov in his GONE category in his brutal assessment of the Maple Leafs, and inspired by general manager Brad Treliving’s statement that “everything is on the table.”
When it comes to Samsonov, Larkin believes that Treliving has already made his decision on the goalie and that he has played his last game as a Maple Leaf:
“Samsonov is clearly a talented athlete, but the space between his ears has failed him one too many times during his tenure between Toronto’s pipes. Treliving passed up any opportunity to name him as a piece of the Leafs’ net last week during management’s season-ending presser. It simply makes little sense to bring back a netminder with a penchant for allowing backbreaking goals.”
Samsonov, along with Martin Jones, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. Though he has expressed his willingness to return with the Leafs, there wasn’t a strong vote of confidence from Treliving, who could explore his summer’s trade and free-agent markets for an upgrade.
Treliving could look for a veteran goalie, still young enough for a significant workload, to back up Joseph, who is the only goalie under contract with Toronto next season. The Leafs also have promising goalie prospect Dennis Hildeby in their system.
In free agency, the Maple Leafs could have a shot at some options include Laurent Brossoit of the Winnipeg Jets , Anthony Stolarz of the Florida Panthers , Kevin Lankinen of the Nashville Predators , Alex Nedeljkovic of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Scott Wedgewood of the Dallas Stars .
However, Treliving could find a better fit on the trade market as notable options are still rumoured to be available in Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators and Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins.
This will be an Insider one to watch during the offseason.
On top of Samsonov, Larkin also lists Mark Giordano as gone, pointing to a potential retirement. He has added T.J. Brodie, Matt Murray and John Klingberg as other players who are unlikely to return to Toronto.
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