Ilya Samsonov Signs Two-Year Deal With HC Sochi

Free agent goaltender Ilya Samsonov is returning home on a two-year contract with Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League, the league announced. Sochi had to acquire Samsonov’s KHL signing rights from Metallurg Magnitogorsk, who drafted and developed him before his arrival in North America in 2018, which they did so in exchange for cash.

Samsonov, 28, had held out as long as possible while waiting for a suitable NHL offer to materialize. The 28-year-old was a UFA for the second summer in a row after landing a one-year, $1.8MM deal from the Golden Knights on his second go-around on the open market. He was previously a UFA after being nontendered by the Capitals in 2022. The 2015 first-round pick underwhelmed as Adin Hill’s backup in Vegas, recording a .891 SV% and 2.82 GAA in 29 starts with a 16-9-4 record. The Knights didn’t shelter him very well defensively, though, meaning he still saved 0.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.

While that last number should have created at least some intrigue on the market, particularly with someone whose raw talent level is as high as Samsonov’s, it didn’t result in a deal. Teams looking for a reliable backup option were likely scared off by his poor overall save percentage over the last two years. He dipped to a .890 mark for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24, bringing his numbers down to a .890 SV% and even 3.00 GAA over 69 starts in the last two years.

It’s been a relatively quick fall for Samsonov, who emerged as Toronto’s 1A option in 2022-23 and backstopped the franchise to its first playoff series win in 19 years. That career year saw Samsonov post a 27-10-5 record in 40 starts while logging a .919 SV%, 2.33 GAA, four shutouts, and 18.0 GSAx that placed him 10th in the league. Samsonov’s league-wide GSAx rank for the following two seasons, however, was 87th in 2023-24 and 46th in 2024-25.

The 6’3″ netminder returns home after playing six seasons in the NHL, the first three coming with the club that drafted him in Washington. He leaves the NHL for now with 200 games played, a 118-48-25 record, 15 shutouts, a 2.77 GAA, and a .902 SV%.

He now joins one of the KHL’s most consistent bottom-feeder clubs in Sochi. They’re 4-12-2 out of the gate this season and haven’t secured a playoff berth since 2019. He comes over as the club’s starter and only capable option between the pipes, Pavel Khomchenko, is out with an undisclosed injury.

During Samsonov’s first stint in the KHL, he won a Gagarin Cup with Metallurg in 2016 and recorded a 33-16-9 record, .929 SV%, 2.20 GAA, and seven shutouts in 73 games over four seasons.