Maple Leafs Recall Dennis Hildeby

The Maple Leafs recalled rookie netminder Dennis Hildeby from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Monday morning, per a team release. Hildeby joined the Maple Leafs at practice this morning and is expected to dress for his first NHL game Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Hildeby replaces Ilya Samsonov on the active roster, who will be assigned to the minors after 1 p.m. CT today, assuming he clears waivers. The latter’s struggles this season are well-documented, posting a .862 SV% that’s second-worst in the league among qualified netminders.

It’s been a dramatic fall from grace for Samsonov, who conceded at least four goals in his past four starts after blanking the Predators with an 18-save shutout on December 9. He’s just a few months removed from guiding the Maple Leafs to their first playoff series win since 2004 and stopping 17.4 goals above average in 42 appearances in 2022-23.

Multiple reports indicate Samsonov will not appear in a game with AHL Toronto, at least not immediately after his demotion this week. The team’s hope is to give him a dedicated space to work with the team’s development staff and rehabilitate his game.

New de facto starter Joseph Woll is sidelined longer-term with a high ankle sprain. That means veteran Martin Jones, initially signed to be the team’s third option in the net behind Samsonov and Woll, will see the lion’s share of starts before Woll can return to action, likely sometime later this month or next.

Supplementing Jones will be Hildeby, who has put up spectacular numbers in his first full season in the North American pro circuit. He’s had a quick rise up the prospect ranks since being passed over in three straight drafts (2019, 2020 and 2021), finally heading to the Maple Leafs in the fourth round, 122nd overall, in 2022.

Since then, the 22-year-old’s play has been elite. The Maple Leafs signed Hildeby to an entry-level contract only a few weeks after acquiring his rights in the draft, but they returned him to his Swedish Hockey League club, Färjestad BK, on loan for the 2022-23 season. There, he split the crease with current Lightning netminder Matt Tomkins, posting a strong 2.26 GAA and .918 SV% with three shutouts in 21 regular-season games.

After the SHL campaign concluded, Hildeby made three appearances (two regular-season, one playoff) for the Marlies, but only one start. This season, however, with Woll’s injury forcing a domino effect, Hildeby took over the starting role for them and hasn’t looked back. Through 15 games, the 6-foot-7 Swede has a .919 SV%, 2.20 GAA, two shutouts, and a 7-5-3 record. He’s allowed four-plus goals in a game only twice and has not been pulled from a game.

The Leafs aren’t looking to Hildeby to “save their season.” After all, the team is still in solid playoff positioning with a third-place standing in the Atlantic Division. Although they’re tied in points with the Lightning with 41, they have four games in hand on their playoff rivals, leading to a significant gap in their points percentages.

However, they are hoping he can give the team some more chances to win – something Samsonov hasn’t done on too many occasions as of late. If Hildeby can post a SV% even just slightly below league average in his first NHL stint, it will be a major upgrade on Samsonov’s performance this year and could help fault Toronto into a top-two finish in the Atlantic. With a back-to-back upcoming against the Kings tomorrow and the Ducks Wednesday, he will likely make his first NHL start within the next 72 hours.

Hildeby’s contract carries a $843.3K cap hit, less than the maximum $1.15MM in cap savings afforded by burying Samsonov’s contract in the minors. Thus, the Leafs will add roughly $275K in cap space with this transaction, giving them some breathing room under their nearly maxed-out LTIR salary pool.