Samsonov returns to Leafs after brief AHL stint
The Toronto Maple Leafs are making a change in net.
Today, the team announced they’d called up Ilya Samsonov from the Toronto Marlies, while loaning Dennis Hildeby to the AHL in his place.
The @MapleLeafs have recalled G Ilya Samsonov from the @TorontoMarlies.
G Dennis Hildeby has been loaned to the Marlies.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 10, 2024
Samsonov went down to the Marlies earlier this month after going unclaimed on waivers on December 31. He did not make an appearance for the Marlies over the stretch, instead doing some conditioning work in an attempt to regain his confidence.
“We are going to take it a day at a time. He is on the ice at Marlies practice today. That is a step for him. He has been skating on his own and spending some time to himself. That is the plan,” Keefe told reporters at Leafs morning skate yesterday.
Samsonov has registered just a .862 save percentage so far this season, which is the lowest save percentage posted by a Toronto goalie in his first 15 games of a season since Allan Bester in 1989-90, allowing 52 goals in his appearances so far.
In his second year with Toronto, the 26-year-old goalie is on a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs worth $3.55 million. Though he was anticipated to be the starter coming into training camp, Toronto goalies Joseph Woll and Martin Jones have vastly outperformed him this season.
Jones is 8-3-0 in 12 games with a goals against average of 1.98 and a save percentage of .934, while Woll has a record of 8-5-1 in 15 games with a goals against average of 2.80 and a save percentage of .916.
Woll, who has been out since December 8 with a lower-body injury, skated with the team on Tuesday and is working towards a return, though Keefe added that he is still “a ways away.”
The Leafs return to the ice tomorrow night when they take on the New York Islanders at 7 pm ET.
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