Dubas, Keefe reveal plan for Leafs' new goalie tandem this season
The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a number one goaltender, at least by definition.
Bringing in Matt Murray via trade and Ilya Samsonov via free agency, the Leafs are heading into 2022-23 with two new faces tending their goal this season, with no real indication of how either acquisition will fare in a new environment.
So, two major questions circle the Leafs as they are set to enter training camp tomorrow: how many games will each goalie play? And perhaps more importantly, can they handle the responsibility?
“With regards to the workload for both goaltenders, both have shown that they can carry the load, and we’re trying to [figure it out],” Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said at today’s media day. “The reality is we need to get them both up and running and it’s gonna be hard to do that if one is playing all the games and the other is sitting. I think the way the schedule is at the beginning of the year kind of makes that easy to let it roll. But that said, it’s going to be based on merit. So how they play in exhibition, and how they play to start the year.”
The Leafs open up their regular season with four games in six nights, which would suggest two games for each goaltender.
“Those guys are going to push one another,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I think they’re both going to challenge for the net. You’ll see us split a lot of the duties throughout the season… both players have incredible talent.”
Murray had a 15-25-3 record in 47 games with a goals-against average of 3.23 and a save percentage of .899 for the Senators in his two-year Ottawa career.
But Keefe is hopeful that his connection with his new goalie — who he coached with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds for two seasons from 2012-2014 — will help him settle into his new home.
“I know [Murray] well from my time spent with him [in the OHL], but … [I can] see how he’s grown and how he takes care of himself and how he goes about his business with incredible confidence himself, despite what might have happened here in recent years,” Keefe said.
Murray went 117-53-19 in 199 games with a goals-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .914 for the Penguins in his career, which Keefe thinks Murray has a chance of recapturing.
“His success that he’s had in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup and winning the big game, be a game seven or be it clinching a Stanley Cup and getting it done… that gives him incredible confidence, you can see that as he moves around the building,” Keefe added.
Keefe was also complimentary of Samsonov, despite no real prior experience with him. Samsonov was taken at 22nd overall in the 2015 draft but has played just 89 games in his NHL career, with a record of 52-22-8 and a save percentage of .902.
In this past year’s playoffs, Samsonov had a goals against average of 2.97 and a save percentage of .912 in five games against the Florida Panthers.
“[Samsonov] is an incredible talent that we think has gotten more to give in terms of how he competes on a daily basis, and how he can be pushed and challenged,” Keefe added. “Yet at the same time, he’s a guy that took on the Presidents’ Trophy winner in the playoffs in the first round last year, and went toe to toe with them.”
Dubas added a third option that could see time with the NHL club this season: 25-year-old Erik Källgren, who played 14 games for the Leafs last season.
“Nothing has been promised to either and nothing will be given to [Samsonov and Murray],” Dubas added. “They’ll earn it. We have Erik Kallgren here as well. That will push [the goalies] as he did last year. That’ll be a key thing for us to watch in camp, but we’re very confident in all three.”
The season kicks off on October 12 when the Leafs pay a visit to the Montreal Canadiens. But we’re just three days away from a split-squad doubleheader matchup against the Ottawa Senators, with Toronto hosting both games at Scotiabank Arena, starting at 1 pm ET.
Follow Channels and Categories