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Sheldon Keefe goes after the media for their treatment of Ilya Samsonov this season

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Ryan Smitheram
December 22, 2023 (11:48)

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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov has struggled mightily this season with consistency and has quickly fallen out of favour with Leaf fans as Joseph Woll and Martin Jones have performed much better than the 26-year-old this season.

The Leafs have tried almost everything to this point to build his confidence back up and help him regain the form he had last season, but nothing has worked. Last night was another performance from him that had everyone cringe as he gave up 5 goals on 19 shots. Samsonov has given up four goals or more in four of his last five starts going 1-1-3 over that span. He has also posted an atrocious .862 save percentage during that stretch.

While the media almost attacked Samsonov last night following his outing, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe made a surprising comment regarding the 'concern' the media has with Samsonov and his mental state. Keefe was quick to not only dismiss concern but called out reporters for using that term.

"You guys always bring up the word concern. It's not the right way to frame it. We need to be very aware of it. We need to help him through this."

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Prior to Keefe speaking with the media, Samsonov had admitted that he needed to figure out what was going on mentally for him. As the media and many fans begin to turn on Samsonov, Keefe knows what Samsonov is capable of and defended him by calling out the rest of the team.

"We have to play better in front of him and give him a chance to find himself. He is going to do his work with Curtis. He has been doing his work. When he is in the net, the guys in front of him have to give him a chance."

The Leafs have one more game before a brief Christmas break against Columbus, but it is doubtful that Samsonov will get the start Saturday given that he also gave up 5 goals last Thursday against that same Blue Jackets team. Following Saturday's tilt with the Jackets, hopefully the four-day break over the holidays will allow Samsonov to reset and come back with a clearer mind and allow him to regain his confidence.

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

Sabres burn the Leafs during runaway win with blatant showing of disrespect late in the game

Maple Leafs losing patience with former starting goaltender

Max Domi becomes unhinged, goes after several Sabres players before being tossed from the game

POLL
22 DECEMBRE \| 1261 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe goes after the media for their treatment of Ilya Samsonov this season How concerned are you that Samsonov will be unable to regain last season's form?
Not at all, he'll get it back	130	10.3 %
Somewhat. There's still time to improve	285	22.6 %
Very, he has not been able to find his game	846	67.1 %
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