Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov deflects playoff pressure on ‘probably the best team in the league’
with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was targeted as the No. 1 goalie. But he got hurt three times and is out now with a concussion, although he has been skating.
The bet on Samsonov, who was surprised to be in the free-agent market, has paid off. The Capitals didn’t offer him a contract last summer in part because of a poor playoff performance. It was easily the low point of his career. The Capitals essentially told a goalie they had drafted in the first round in 2015 that he wasn’t good enough. Instead of sulking, the newly minted free agent bet on himself andSamsonov rebounded in Toronto with help from another new arrival, goalie coach Curtis Sanford.
“Sanford ... made that connection, to spend time with him and express how excited we were with the talent he had, and the fact we knew he would be a guy looking to bounce back,” said Keefe. “We had the new goalie coach who was motivated to come and do well. Both guys were coming into fresh opportunities. We just tried to get his game right.
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