Maple Leafs Have Examined Goalie Trade Market

The Maple Leafs have “dipped their toes” into the goaltender trade market in the wake of an injury to youngster Joseph Woll and poor play from the more experienced Ilya Samsonov, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Freidman reported on Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines program.

Nothing is imminent, however, and Friedman says not to expect a deal without the first few days after the holiday roster freeze lifts next Wednesday. The Maple Leafs are reportedly intent on wanting to work with Samsonov and hope he can return to the true starter form he displayed last season.

Samsonov’s play has indeed been nightmarish this year. Through 14 games, he has a rather peculiar 5-2-5 record but a .871 SV% that ranks near the bottom of the league. His -11.5 goals saved above average are third-worst in the NHL, ahead of only Blackhawks youngster Arvid Söderblom (-12.6 GSAA) and Hurricanes backup Antti Raanta (-15.1 GSAA), the latter of whom was waived earlier this week.

While Samsonov has struggled with inconsistency since breaking into the league with the Capitals in 2019, few expected this significant drop-off from last season’s play. He started a career-high 40 contests, limited in part due to minor injuries and the fact he was viewed as the backup to two-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray heading into the season. Injuries and mediocrity plagued Murray’s brief time in Toronto, allowing Samsonov to take the starter’s crease. Murray remains on long-term injured reserve this season after undergoing hip surgery and is not expected to be available at any point.

He responded with a 27-10-5 record, .919 SV%, 2.33 GAA, and four shutouts, all career highs. In the postseason, he outdueled Lightning star Andrei Vasilevskiy in the crease and guided the Maple Leafs to their first playoff series win in the salary cap era. Unfortunately, an injury in Game 3 of the team’s second-round series against the Panthers ended his season, and the Maple Leafs bowed out in five games.

The Leafs, however, were not sold on a long-term extension for Samsonov – a restricted free agent last summer – given their tight salary cap situation. Samsonov elected for salary arbitration with the club, and he did not agree to an extension with the team before the hearing, resulting in a one-year, $3.55MM award that makes him an unrestricted free agent next summer. After this season’s struggles, it’s looked like the prudent choice.

While Toronto would prefer to rehabilitate Samsonov’s game, his one-year deal makes him an easier player to trade if they opt for an upgrade in the crease. The 25-year-old Woll is beginning to solidify himself as the team’s starter after posting a .915 SV% through 15 appearances, but he remains sidelined week-to-week with a high ankle sprain. He isn’t expected to miss a significant chunk of the season, though, so any move Toronto makes in the crease would be to find a better tandem partner or backup for Woll come playoff time.

A seller’s market makes a trade purely for short-term help undesirable. As Friedman notes, only a handful of teams have legitimate options of value in the crease available on the trade market, and inquiring teams have felt “extorted” by asking prices for targets, assumedly netminders like Ducks starter John Gibson and Canadiens tandem veteran Jake Allen.

One player who is not an option for NHL time this season is 22-year-old Swede Dennis Hildeby, who Friedman reports Toronto intends to keep in the minors to continue his development. The 2022 fourth-round pick is massive at 6-foot-7 and 223 pounds and has exploded for a .921 SV% and 7-4-2 record through 13 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in his first full season in North America.

The play of veteran call-up Martin Jones in the wake of Woll’s injury is also something to monitor. A handful of solid performances could make the Maple Leafs comfortable with what they have, especially given his notable postseason experience. Jones was in the crease for the San Jose Sharks’ only Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history in 2016 and led all playoff goalies with a .928 SV% in 2018, although he hasn’t been an above-average NHL option since.

Entering tonight’s games, however, Jones had a respectable .907 SV% and one shutout in five appearances, three of them starts. For a team consistently teetering against the salary cap’s Upper Limit, squeezing all they can out of Jones and his $875K cap hit is an appealing proposition for Toronto.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.