Maple Leafs losing patience with former starting goaltender
It has been no surprise that the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a conundrum in goal, but where do they go from here?
Just last season, Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov was riding a high, where he had a career season posting his best year in North America to date. He had a solid and consistent regular season record of 27-10-5. This included career bests with 27 wins, 4 shutouts, a 2.33 GAA, and .919 SV% while playing a career high of 2,476 minutes and making 1,088 total saves.
His regular season success carried over into the playoffs, where he helped contribute by making some key saves to help the Leafs get over the dreadful hump of the first round, something they struggled to do for six straight seasons prior in the Matthews era, and in 19 seasons as a whole. Samsonov was calm, he was collected and poised in the net, showing that he was ready to be considered an everyday starter in the NHL. So where did it all go wrong?
Samsonov certainly didn't start on the right foot this off-season. In training camp, he posted a 2-0-1 record but with borderline abysmal stats, averaging almost 3 goals per game (2.96 GAA), and a subpar .879 SV%. An easy scapegoat was the fact that it was only pre-season and there were new supporting casts surrounding the core. Unfortunately, this was an all too real problem heading into the regular season.
Ilya has been caught in a whirlwind, spiraling out of control since his first game of the regular season. He appears to be a shell of the player he was last season. Coming across too aggressive, trying so desperately to make those big saves, which has him far out of position more often than not. Your team doesn't always play great in front of you, but you have to make some key saves to spark your teammates, and shift the momentum; something Samsonov is struggling to do.
Last night was no exception. Samsonov had yet another game where you could feel that the confidence just wasn't there. From the opening few minutes when he let in a simple, no screen point shot straight through until the shot that had him pulled and down in his net pondering. It was the usual trend of allowing four or more goals, something he's done in four of his last five starts.
With Joseph Woll still recovering and likely out until February, it puts the Maple Leafs in a difficult position. Do they wait for Samsonov to dig himself out from this hole he's in? Do they lend him to the Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint and call up Dennis Hildeby, who's been hot in his early AHL career? It may be easy to give the starters crease to Martin Jones' until further notice, but it doesn't solve the problem.
The Leafs are in a bit of a conundrum right now and there doesn't appear to be any easy solutions. It's either play him and allow his confidence to dwindle or bench him and allow his confidence to dwindle. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 22 | 842 ANSWERS Maple Leafs losing patience with former starting goaltender Will the Leafs trade Ilya Samsonov before the deadline? | ||
| Yes | 519 | 61.6 % |
| No | 323 | 38.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
