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Ilya Samsonov

Matt Murray To Be Toronto Maple Leafs Third Goalie

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David Alter of Sports Illustrated is reporting that Matt Murray is set to take the role as the Toronto Maple Leafs third goalie as they get set to begin their second round series against the Florida Panthers. The Thunder Bay native joined his Leafs teammates at practice today for the first time since he suffered a concussion on April 2 during a 5-2 Toronto loss against Detroit.

The 28-year-old will fall behind Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll on the Maple Leafs goaltending depth chart and will likely travel with the club when they head to Florida for games three and four. Murray has an exemplary track record in the playoffs having backstopped the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cups as a rookie in 2016 and 2017.

A lot has changed since those two championships as Murray has been relegated to an afterthought since being traded by the Penguins to the Ottawa Senators in 2020. Murray never found his footing in Ottawa as he battled inconsistency and injuries and was eventually traded last summer to Toronto in a salary dump.

Murray had an uneven first season in Toronto posting a 14-8-2 record with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. While he hasn’t posted elite numbers in years, he does offer Toronto a strong backup option should Samsonov stumble.

Toronto Maple Leafs Emergency Recall Joseph Woll

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled goalie Joseph Woll from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis, the team tweeted Thursday.

The move was announced as starting netminder Ilya Samsonov is assumedly away from the team for the birth of his and his wife’s first child. Woll will back up Matt Murray tonight when the Leafs play the Florida Panthers, their second straight game against a hungry opponent in the thick of the Eastern Conference Wild Card race.

Woll, 24, is quickly seeing his stock rise with impressive performances in both the big leagues and the minors this season. He’s been shuttled between leagues multiple times over the past few months as minor injuries have affected Samsonov and Murray.

He’s played in three games with the Maple Leafs this season, posting a 2-1-0 record with a 2.04 goals-against average and .938 save percentage. He stopped 25 of 26 shots in his last appearance, a win against the Calgary Flames in early March. While it’s unlikely Woll plays during what will be a short call-up in Samsonov’s absence, he’s earned more opportunities at the NHL level with similarly strong numbers in the minors.

Leafs Notes: Brodie, Samsonov, Acciari

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A common theme of the Toronto Maple Leafs season has been injuries to defensemen, and unfortunately, this week has brought more of the same. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters today that T.J. Brodie is day-to-day after blocking a shot against the Ottawa Senators last Saturday, calling him questionable for tomorrow’s game against the New York Islanders.

If there’s one position where Toronto is built to withstand injuries, though, it’s defense. A flurry of deadline adds and already formidable depth has left the Leafs with a bevy of NHL-capable options to step in, and it’s likely that Mark Giordano will return to the lineup in Brodie’s place. It’s not a small absence for the Leafs, though, as Brodie ranks second among Leafs defenders this season in ice time per game.

  • Netminder Ilya Samsonov told reporters today that he’s been playing with a minor injury for the past number of games. The Hockey News’ David Alter reports that it dates back to a win late last month against the Seattle Kraken. It hasn’t seemed to impact Samsonov’s play that much, and although he’s only made four appearances since then, he’s maintained a 2-1-1 record and .914 save percentage since, in line with his season average.
  • Trade deadline acquisition Noel Acciari gave reporters an update on his condition, saying he’s feeling good and ready to play tomorrow after missing Saturday’s game for precautionary reasons. Acciari played just 5:36 in last Friday’s game against Carolina before a collision with Jesse Puljujarvi that involved a head impact sidelined him for the rest of the game. Since joining the Leafs, Acciari has three goals in 13 games and is averaging 12:51 per game.

 

Toronto Maple Leafs Activate Ilya Samsonov

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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.

Evening Notes: Stars, Letang, Samsonov

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The Dallas Stars are off to a strong start under new head coach Pete DeBoer, and they’re looking to get stronger. Per TSN’s Darren Dreger on tonight’s edition of Insider Trading, the Stars are still looking to add a top-six forward, preferably to play with Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment.

They’ve had a rotating cast playing on the wing with those two, and although Seguin and Marchment have played well, they’d obviously like some added depth and to get a player that boasts chemistry with them. Jamie Benn is having a resurgence in limited minutes, scoring 26 points in 23 games, and they’d prefer to keep his ice time down below 15-16 minutes. If nothing comes to fruition, the strong performances of youngsters Ty Dellandrea and Wyatt Johnston should still safeguard their depth scoring.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has been in and out of the lineup recently, and he’s missing another contest tonight. Letang is absent from their game against the Carolina Hurricanes with an undisclosed illness, the team announced before puck drop. It’s his second missed game of the season after missing a game earlier this month, also with an illness. He revealed weeks ago that he had been battling an illness for a stretch of games; whether or not this is a related illness is unclear.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov says he’s pain-free after his knee injury and is “ready to play,” according to TSN’s Mark Masters. Head coach Sheldon Keefe pumped the brakes on his status, however, saying the team would check on him tomorrow to determine his return to play. The young netminder, who had a strong start to the season, has missed nearly a month.

Snapshots: McDonagh, Samsonov, Tarasenko

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If the season were to end today, the Nashville Predators would, for a second straight season, find themselves in the playoffs as the eighth seed out of the Western Conference. Last season, the team was rewarded for its efforts with a 4-0 sweep in the first round at the hands of the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche. This season, should they make the playoffs, they’ll now have a new weapon: a veteran shutdown defenseman with Stanley Cup pedigree in that of defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who they acquired this offseason from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Though Nashville has had their struggles thus far, McDonagh has been the steady, reliable presence they’d hoped for, helping to keep them in the hunt early on.

However, as The Athletic’s Joe Smith details, there was a time when McDonagh was nearly on his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason. According to Smith’s discussions with McDonagh and agent Ben Hankinson, a deal to Columbus was rather close. But, on the morning of July 3rd, things began to change. As Smith writes, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois had set that day as a deadline to find a trade partner for McDonagh, who carried a no-movement clause on his contract. If they could not, Smith added, there was a chance McDonagh could have been placed on waivers. Instead, the story goes, Nashville and GM David Poile jumped into the mix that day and made the push to acquire McDonagh. Ultimately, it was the Predators who checked more boxes than any other interested team, McDonagh said.

  • After Ilya Samsonov suffered a knee injury in a game against the Boston Bruins two weeks ago, many wondered how the Toronto Maple Leafs would resolve their issues in net, down both of their regular netminders. Toronto managed to bide their time, relying on Erik Kallgren, until Murray’s return this Tuesday, however they will need that pair to stay healthy for now, as Samsonov does not appear close to return. According to TSN’s Mark Masters, who spoke with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, Samsonov did not skate Friday. As Keefe says, Samsonov is still healing and not yet at the point to push himself every day and make the push to return. Fortunately for Toronto, the comments don’t appear to point to any setback in Samsonov’s recovery, even if his return is not clear.
  • NHL.com’s Chris Pinkert reports that St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko will not play tonight due to illness. It doesn’t appear that the illness is in any way COVID related. Skating in his place will be Alexey Toropchenko, who will play alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas. The 23-year-old Toropchenko has just one goal in 11 games this season, but a chance to skate in the Blues’ top-six could reignite the winger.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Soucy, Murray

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen leading the way. The big winger had three goals and four assists in just two games, continuing an incredible stretch. Rantanen has now recorded 14 points in his last five games and is tied for fourth in the league scoring race (still nine points behind Connor McDavid, who is running away with it). At this pace, Rantanen should record the first 100+ point season of his career if he can stay relatively healthy. He had 92 last season in 75 games.

Second and third went to Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins and Adam Fox of the New York Rangers, who each had their own impressive weeks. Ullmark stopped almost everything he saw en route to a 3-0 week with a .956 save percentage, while Fox notched eight points in four games. The 2021 Norris Trophy winner is now just three points behind Erik Karlsson for first among defenseman scoring.

  • Seattle Kraken defenseman Carson Soucy will have to pay up a little bit for his decision to punch Pierre-Luc Dubois in the back of the head, as the league issued him a $2,500 fine for roughing. It should be noted that this was not the maximum allowable, meaning it didn’t really come close to a suspension in the eyes of the league. Still, it can be taken into account for future supplementary discipline.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs may be dealing with injuries to their defense corps, but the goaltenders are getting healthy. Matt Murray is expected to start for the team on Tuesday, while Ilya Samsonov was on the ice with the team this morning. Even Joseph Woll, who has been out for the entire season so far, is expected to join the Toronto Marlies for practice tomorrow according to David Alter of Sports Illustrated. Suddenly, the Maple Leafs may have their entire goaltending group healthy all at once, after being forced to sign Keith Petruzzelli to an NHL deal just to dress a backup recently.

Toronto Maple Leafs Place Ilya Samsonov On IR; Matt Murray’s Return “On The Horizon”

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The Toronto Maple Leafs made a big sacrifice in last night’s win over the Boston Bruins, losing goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a knee injury. The netminder left the game after two periods and had many in the hockey world wondering what could be next for the Maple Leafs. This morning, the organization signed goaltender Keith Petruzzelli to a a two-year, entry-level contract to fill the void in Samsonov’s absence alongside backstop Erik Kallgren until either Samsonov, or Matt Murray, who is currently on LTIR, can return.

Earlier today, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe met the media to provide updates on the team’s goaltending situation. For one, Keefe told reporters, including Sports Illustrated’s David Alter, that Samsonov is indeed being placed on IR. This move will create the roster spot for Petruzzelli. Per TSN’s Mark Masters, Keefe added that Samsonov will have an MRI on his knee today and is expected to miss more than a week, but the timeline beyond that is unclear.

Now without Murray and Samsonov, Toronto is down to their third and fourth string goaltenders, the fourth string one they didn’t expect to have until earlier today. In the aftermath of Samsonov’s injury, many turned their eyes to the injured Murray. Of course, Murray is still on LTIR, however the initial timeline for his abductor injury was listed as four weeks. That was three weeks ago.

Keefe did not go so far as to give a timeline on Murray, but beyond adding his return is “on the horizon,” Keefe did tell Alter that Murray would join the Maple Leafs for practice as soon as Tuesday. Keefe also mentioned, Masters writes, that he considers Murray to be “ahead of schedule” in regards to his timeline. What exactly that could mean is unclear, but the Maple Leafs will have a busy week nonetheless. After this afternoon’s contest in Carolina, the team returns home for games on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, including challenges from the Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, and a desperate Vancouver Canucks squad.

In the meantime, the duo of Kallgren and Petruzzelli may not sound all that enticing to Toronto fans, however each brings a solid track record to the table. Petruzzelli was dominant in his four years at Quinnipiac University before turning pro last season. The 23-year-old continued his dominance with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers and spent five games with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL as well. This season, he was off to a strong start with a 2.31 goals-against average and .922 save-percentage in six games with the Marlies. Meanwhile, Kallgren brings with him a bevy of European experience prior to his North American debut last season, where he played 40 games between the Marlies and Maple Leafs.

Evening Notes: Horvat, Senators Sale, Samsonov

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It was not long ago that, with as many question marks as there were around the Vancouver Canucks, the obvious answer was an extension for team captain Bo Horvat. Whether or not players like J.T. Miller or Brock Boeser were or were not traded or if head coach Bruce Boudreau would be brought back for this season, a Horvat extension always seemed to be a given. Now, after extensions for Miller and Boeser, the free agent signing of Ilya Mikheyev, and the Canucks’ rocky start to the season, with no extension in place for the captain, things appear more uncertain than they’ve ever been for Horvat and Vancouver.

On tonight’s 32 Thoughts segment of Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reiterated the story on Horvat: the needle has not moved at all in negotiations. Marek further emphasized the curiosity as to what the organization will ultimately do with Horvat. On one hand, the reunion between both sides appears to be a perfect match and as much as the Canucks have struggled to start the season, Horvat with his 10 goals in 11 games, has not. Still, the more the veteran continues to score, the higher he drives his price. With Miller and Boeser now in place, if the price becomes higher than Vancouver wishes to pay, or simply can pay, the decision might be made for them. And, should Vancouver struggle or fail to make up the ground they lost, Horvat’s trade value may be enough to dissuade them from pursuing an extension in the first place.

  • Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators formally initiated the process of being sold, just over seven months after the passing of owner Eugene Melnyk. Though that time might seem a bit longer than expected to some, the Melnyk family was able to oversee a team transition this offseason to lock in some of the organization’s young core talent, become one of the league’s more exciting groups, and of course, grieve Melnyk’s passing. Although the timeline to date has been unclear, the sale process might be a bit more clear, and quick. Also from tonight’s 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expects the process to get seriously moving by American Thanksgiving, which is now 19 days away. No clear front runner(s) for the team have emerged yet, though Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the league would prefer one majority owner over a group of minority shareholders. Even with the Thanksgiving timetable mentioned, when exactly a new owner would be in place with all formalities and transition of power completed, is unclear.
  • More tough news for the Toronto Maple Leafs in net as goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who started tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins, was forced to leave after the second period. The Maple Leafs confirmed their goaltender would not return while dealing with a knee injury. According to head coach Sheldon Keefe, who discussed the injury with reporters, including Joshua Clipperton of The Canadien Press, was suffered during Brad Marchand’s penalty shot. The extent of the injury or any time he could miss is not yet clear, however Toronto is already working around the loss of Matt Murray in net, who is on LTIR with an abductor injury. Murray was scheduled to miss four weeks with that injury and is currently through three, however a scheduled return is not yet known. Erik Kallgren, who has been acting as the Maple Leafs backup goaltender, is certainly a capable NHL netminder, however the only other goaltender Toronto has under contract is Dennis Hildeby, a 2022 draft pick currently on loan in his native Sweden. Interestingly, the Maple Leafs had been pressed against the 50 contract limit–until today. With forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel lost on waivers to the Washington Capitals this afternoon, Toronto now has just 49 of 50 contracts in their system, enough to add one more player. Should they need to do so, they’ll have to act quick and be creative, with puck drop in Carolina scheduled for 5:00 pm ET tomorrow afternoon.

 

East Notes: Samsonov, Dubas, Fedotov

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When the Maple Leafs signed goaltender Ilya Samsonov to a one-year deal in free agency, both the team, the term, and the money raised some eyebrows.  However, GM Kyle Dubas told Postmedia’s Steve Simmons that the 25-year-old insisted on signing a one-year deal, likely with the hopes of rebuilding his value.  Samsonov was non-tendered by Washington earlier this offseason instead of offering him $2MM with arbitration rights on the heels of a season that saw him post a 3.02 GAA and a .896 SV% in 43 games.  Getting less than that in free agency was a bit of a surprise given the market for backup goaltenders but clearly, he feels Toronto was the right fit to have a bounce-back year.  He will once again be eligible for restricted free agency next summer.

Elsewhere around the East:

  • Still with Toronto, GM Kyle Dubas told reporters including Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link) that he was informed that no offer of a contract extension would be coming his way at this time. Dubas is entering the final year of his deal, his fifth at the helm of the Maple Leafs and at first glance, it seems fair to wonder if how they perform in the playoffs will go a long way to determining if he’ll be around for a sixth season.
  • Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov has dropped his appeal on charges of evading his Russian military obligations, notes team reporter Bill Meltzer (Twitter link). The decision means that the 25-year-old will not be permitted to join Philadelphia this season.  The team will have the ability to toll the contract, meaning that they can roll over the one-year, $925K agreement to the 2023-24 season.

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