Report: Leafs eying Stanley Cup winner as Ilya Samsonov's replacement
Could he find himself in Toronto next season?
The Toronto Maple Leafs were dealt another disappointing early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by their division and Original 6 rival Boston Bruins, who defeated them in Round 1 in a hard-fought seven games series that culminated in another Bruins victory on TD Garden ice in the deciding 7th game.
GM Brad Treliving has many player personnel decisions ahead of him, including what to do with pending free agents that include the likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, T.J. Brodie and Joel Edmundson. An additional figure who is also set to become a free agent is goaltender Ilya Samsonov.
As you may remember, Samsonov struggled in the first part of the 2023-24 season, leading to the Leafs waiving him in December. However, he would rebound nicely and would even become Toronto's nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy. He started the first four games of the postseason against Boston before being replaced with Joseph Woll, who led Toronto to wins in Games 5 and 6 before suffering an untimely injury.
Samsonsov was right back between the pipes for Game 7, a 2-1 overtime setback. And right now, there's been no real indications that the Leafs are interested in bringing the Russian goaltender back for a third season with the team. While it appears that Woll is set to take the next step and challenge for the full-time starting job, the Leafs reportedly are interested in signing a veteran for him to split the net with.
According to Leafs writer James Mirtle, Toronto is interested in Laurent Brossoit, who is currently in his second tenure with the Winnipeg Jets.
Brossoit has also played for the Edmonton Oiler and the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup last season. He posted solid numbers with the Jets as backup to Connor Hellebuyck, going 15-5-2 with a 2.00 goals against average, .927 save percentage and a pair of shutouts.
A free-agent in his own right on July 1, Brossoit made $1,750,000 with Winnipeg in 2023-24.
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