Ilya Samsonov Signs Multi-Year KHL Deal
Goaltender Ilya Samsonov returns to the KHL, signing with Sochi after his NHL chapter concludes. A potential North American clause offers a path back.
Video Transcript
The goaltenders, uh, it kind of surprised that Ilya Samsonov, who not too long ago, like I think we're talking maybe 2 years, uh, was a number one goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He's only 28 years old, you know, still a good age.
I know the numbers don't really justify it, but you know, a bit surprised that he hasn't been snatched up with how many teams are looking for depth goaltending.
Hm, I mean, it is interesting because he is so streaky, right?
Like, if you get good Elia Samsonoff, then you're getting like a legit NHL starter, but if you're getting bad Samson off, then it's basically replacement level, and I think that's the challenge right now is that goaltending, you know, it should be a big investment for a team because it does matter, and are you getting the right fit, you know, and I think It, it's funny, like every year, you know, you do have your usual suspects, your hell bucks and your huerkins and guys like that, Vasilevski, where it's like you, you know that they're gonna be very good, uh, if not the best, but then there's a whole range of guys where You hope that this is a good year for them, but you don't know for sure.
And sometimes a guy will come out and surprise you and have a lights out season like a Darcy Kemper or a Logan Thompson, and then you kind of have to review everything that's going on.
So if you're a team, I think you can take a chance on Samsonoff.
Uh, he's certainly better than some of the other options out there, they're already signed, but it's a matter of finding a team that has that need that's willing to take a chance.
Yeah, I think it's funny how the goaltending narrative shifts.
I mean, I think a lot of people forget when the Blues won the Cup.
You guys might know this, so correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't Jordan Binnington in the AHL the first half of the year?
I believe he was, and then he got called up, um, like in January when the Blues were dead last or whatever it was, and went on that run.
So it's a funny position cause it's so streaky and then if you even look at like the con contractual side of that, like.
People were saying Borosky, the 1st 2 or 3 years of that deal were like that was written by every, it probably was written by the hockey news, but um I'm just kidding, but like it was written by basically everyone in media about being one of the worst contracts in the NHL and people were kind of got away from the narrative that you don't need to pay a goalie, 9, 10 million to win and stuff like that.
And then that narrative after Tampa in the run that they went on with their goaltending and now Florida, it's completely kind of shifted back the other way.
Totally.
I will fully admit I wrote that several times, that like, that $10 million contract at the beginning was the worst in the league.
Like, they couldn't trade it.
Even if they wanted to, there was like nobody willing to go anywhere near Borowski, and then obviously history is borne out that he bounced back in a major way with a better team in front of him and uh and now he is a back to back Stanley Cup champion.
And probably a Hall of Famer at this point.
Yeah, yeah, and it's funny too.
Oilers too, like, you know, obviously they don't have a guy in Skinner or Picker that you want to give 10 million to, but on any given day, those guys can get you to the Stanley Cup final.
Yeah, and I think too, if you look at it too, so much of that position is team dependent.
I mean, you see guys like back in the day, um, Ben Scrivens is a friend of mine who played in LA when they were giving up 20 shots a game for several years, and most of those weren't great A chances, and he had an amazing couple seasons there, and then he gets traded to Edmonton when they weren't the Edmonton Oilers that we know today and really struggled and like.
Obviously, his level of play probably didn't really drop off, but even for good goaltenders in the NHL, so much of it is team dependent and kind of how they play.
