5 Toronto Maple Leafs That Won’t Be Back Next Season

Ilya Samsonov

It seems cruel to put Ilya Samsonov into this category, especially just after his hard-fought Game 7 playoff game against the Bruins in which he did possibly everything to give the Leafs a chance to win.

However, the Leafs organization as a whole has to look at the big picture in terms of what future lies ahead for Samsonov with the team.

After helping the Leafs to their first playoff round series win in over two decades last season, Samsonov was leaned upon to help carry the team once again for the 2023-24 season.

However, the year did not start off well for the 27-year-old as he struggled mightily coming out of the gate. Things got worse when he was put on waivers in December and sent down to the Marlies with hopes he could rediscover his game.

Fortunately, Samsonov did manage to regather himself to come back and play a solid role in helping lead the Leafs to some level of success down the stretch. However, despite his stronger and improved play, he was still victimized at times by letting in a soft goal that often deflated the surging Leafs.

For the season, Samsonov registered a 3.13 GAA along with an .890 save percentage despite a 23-7-8 winning record.

In the playoffs, he failed to raise his game to another level to help the Leafs steal more than a game as he went 1-3-1 with a 3.01 GAA and .896 save percentage.

With Joseph Woll looking more and more like the real deal, it could be his net going forward as the starter for the Maple Leafs. In that case, with Samsonov likely looking for a new contract in the neighborhood of above $3.5/4 million AAV per season, his time with the team should come to an end.