Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Ilya Samsonov

One of the biggest question marks about the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer was whether their new goaltenders would be able to stay healthy. Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov didn’t exactly have a clean history in terms of injury, and those concerns have played out. Both goaltenders have spent time on the injured reserve list already, leading to Erik Kallgren appearing in ten games already.

Today, with the activation of Samsonov, the team finally has both of their top netminders healthy at the same time, something that hasn’t been true since the very start of the year. Kallgren has been sent back down to make room on the roster, as Samsonov is expected to be in the net tonight against the San Jose Sharks.

When they have been in the net, Murray and Samsonov have been excellent. The former has a .927 save percentage and is now 5-1-1 on the year, while the latter is at .921 and 6-2. If that kind of performance continues, general manager Kyle Dubas’ offseason risk will be worthwhile.

The question now is whether they can remain available for the rest of the year. It starts tonight, as Samsonov returns to try and extend a four-game winning streak for the Maple Leafs, one which has catapulted them into second place in the Atlantic Division, six points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning.