David Alter of The Hockey News has revealed on Friday that, per an unnamed source close to Samsonov, the Leafs and the Russian goalie have not come to the point where the door is entirely shut on having the 27-year-old return next season.
Per Alter, the team has not approached Samsonov to inform him of their plans in free agency, nor have they reached out to give him the heads up that he'll be going to market. So, at this point, it does seem like there is a mutual interest in at least talking about a potential return next season.
The news comes after 3 goalies have come off the market, with Jacob Markstrom having been dealt to New Jersey, Darcy Kuemper landing in Los Angeles and Alex Nedeljkovic inking an extension to remain in Pittsburgh.
The Leafs have previously been linked to a number of NHL goaltenders, including starter Juuse Saros, as well as backups Laurent Brossoit and Anthony Stolarz.
