Former Capitals Goalie Samsonov Will Reportedly Sign With Maple Leafs

After not getting a qualifying offer from the Washington Capitals, it looks like Ilya Samsonov is headed to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Per The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, Samsonov will sign with Toronto when free agency opens.

The 25-year-old is a UFA after Washington passed on qualifying him on MOndya. He is coming off a one-year, $2 million bridge deal.

Samsonov had a somewhat tough go-of-it in 2021-22, going 23-12-5 with a .896 save percentage and 3.02 GAA through 44 games. In Game 2 of the opening round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he relieved Vanecek as the starter and had a decent showing with a cumulative .912 SV% in five games against the Florida Panthers.

Washington had elected to pass on Samsonov for financial reasons, as his next deal would likely come in around $3-3.5 million. For the Capitals, this was too expensive for a backup, especially with the team likely pursuing a starter. Going into free agency, Washington had no active goalies on the market after trading Vitek Vanecek on Friday.

Reports indicate that Darcy Kuemper will sign with Washington.