The Washington Capitals have finally signed their 2015 first-round pick, inking goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal carries the maximum entry-level salary of $925K, while also including at least $500K of potential performance bonuses in each season. Samsonov had been expected to sign after his KHL deal expired recently, but is the last first-rounder from 2015 to do so.
You can’t get a much better goaltending prospect than Samsonov, who at the age of 21 has already won a Gagarin Cup in the KHL, two World Junior medals and is one of the best netminders not playing in the NHL. His .926 save percentage this season for Magnitogorsk actually lowered his career mark, which included a .936 year in 2016-17. He’s big, standing 6’3″ 205-lbs, mobile and reactive, and already has a good read on rebound control and puck tracking.
In short, there’s a good chance that Samsonov is ready to take the next step in his career. Whether that is the NHL right away will be determined by what the Capitals do this summer with their current tandem of Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer. Holtby has retaken his crease in the playoffs and been spectacular, reassuring many Capitals fans that the two years remaining on his current contract aren’t going to be spent sitting on the bench collecting a $6.1MM payday. Grubauer, for all his strengths, may be the one to go.
The 26-year old Grubauer is a restricted free agent again this summer, and will be looking for a substantial raise on the $1.5MM he earned this season. With the Capitals already struggling to fit everyone in under the cap—especially with a potential John Carlson extension breaking the bank—there might not be any room for a Grubauer extension. The fact that any deal would be buying out all but one unrestricted free agent years would prove pricey, something Washington might just not be able to swallow.
If they do send Grubauer elsewhere to become a starter, there’s a chance that Samsonov could still start his North American career in the minor leagues to prove he’s ready. Pheonix Copely is under contract for next season and though he struggled this season has shown in the past that he could potentially handle a backup role. It’s not clear if the Capitals would want Samsonov sitting on the bench behind Holtby, as he still has developing to do if he’s to become the franchise starting goaltender many believe him capable of being.
CapFriendly broke the news on Twitter, revealing the exact financial details of the contract.
