3 breakout candidates this season in goal; there's a Leaf among them
This may be the busiest off-season of the goalie carousel in a long time as more than a dozen goalies changed teams. By a dozen goalies, I don't mean third string or AHL call-ups, I mean legitimate NHL starters, 1A/1B tandems and quality backups. With so many changes and many younger goalies taking over backup spots at the minimum, or being thrust into starting duties, let's look at 3 prime candidates to have breakout seasons this year.
First up, we have the Leafs' 1B option in Ilya Samsonov. Slated to start as Matt Murray's backup, Samsonov has an opportunity that not many backups have - to steal the crease from the starter - something that Murray himself would know about from his time in Pittsburgh, playing behind Marc-Andre Fleury.
Why does Samsonov have that opportunity you might ask? That's because he has a skillset that he has yet to take full advantage of. At 25 years-old, 2015 first round pick made his debut in 2019/20 season for the Capitals. Over the first 3 years of his career, the 6'3, 200 pound Russian has played in 89 games going 52-22-8 while posting a 2.84GAA and respectable .902 save percentage. When drafted, he was called the next Andre Vasilevskiy, but has not lived up to those expectations yet. At the same time, he hasn't really been given the opportunity to take the net and run with it.
With Matt Murray looking to regain his form in Toronto after another injury filled season, Samsonov could be a prime candidate to steal the net if injuries or poor play find Murray again. While still trying to establish himself and find consistency, Samsonov has had stretches of excellent play, including a .912 save percentage in the playoffs last season. With a revamped goaltending department in Toronto and Samsonov on a 1-year "prove it" deal, he could be poised to steal the starting job and have a breakout season for the Leafs.
Next up, we have Florida's Spencer Knight. The 13th overall pick from the 2019 draft was thrust into backup duty last season after the Seattle Kraken selected Chris Driedger in the expansion draft. At just 20 years old, Knight played in 32 games for the Panthers last season posting a record of 19-9-8 to go along with a solid .908 save percentage and GAA of 2.73 while also posting a .933 save percentage and 1.06GAA in two playoff games. The Panthers believe Knight is their franchise goalie - so much so they traded their other highly touted prospect, Devon Levi, to Buffalo in the Sam Reinhart deal and with Sergei Bobrovsky being so consistently inconsistent, this could be Knight's opportunity to take full control of the Panthers' crease. Knight has all the tools to become a star including an athletic 6'3 frame.
The major question mark going into this season isn't about Knight's development, but rather if the Panthers defense can hold up after losing MacKenzie Weegar. Regardless, should Bobrovsky continue to be inconsistent, Knight has the opportunity to take a large leap forward in his development this season.
Last up, we have Anton Forsberg, who put up surprisingly strong numbers in 46 games with the Senators last season going 22-17-4 with a .917 save percentage and a 2.84 GAA. At 29, Forsberg looks to be the next iteration of Jack Campbell. He took over the crease following an injury to the team's number one, posted strong numbers and made the previous number one expendable.
The Sens should be much improved offensively and their forwards should be more defensively responsible with the additions of Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat, but their defense is still a major question mark. Should the Sens be able to upgrade their blueline, they will be a much improved team all around. I do believe the Sens will surprise people this season as Pierre Dorion has improved the team quite a bit this summer - it just depends on if Forsberg can maintain his form from last year and if the Sens improve defensively.
| POLL | ||
4 SEPTEMBRE | 449 ANSWERS 3 breakout candidates this season in goal; there's a Leaf among them Will Ilya Samsonov be able to take over the starting role in Toronto this season? | ||
| Yes | 330 | 73.5 % |
| No | 119 | 26.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
