MAJOR: Maple Leafs Confirmed to be in Talks to Fix Their Biggest Problem
Since Joseph Woll got injured, the Maple Leafs' biggest issue is clearly between the pipes. Ilya Samsonov hasn't met expectations this year, and Martin Jones, while performing surprisingly well in his first few starts with the Leafs, surely won't be able to keep that level all season.
Leafs Exploring Options to Trade for a Goaltender
The renowned insider Elliotte Friedman made a big statement about this particular issue during a recent segment on Sportsnet.
Here's what he said:
"Of course, they don't have Joseph Woll right now he's injured and I don't think they believe bringing their American Hockey League goaltender Dennis Hildeby up is the proper thing to do right now even though he's really talented and looks really good.
"The other thing I'm hearing out there is that the teams that have the goaltending surplus, they know it. And what they're asking for is a lot, especially if retention is involved and I just think all these teams out here that are looking for goaltenders just find that they're being extorted a little bit."
Trading Samsonov Won't Be Easy
Samsonov, at $3.55 million, won't be easy to trade. He's been simply awful this year.
Also, the goaltending market in the NHL isn't very good right now. While many teams are looking for a new goalie, there's not a lot of good candidates available.
With a 5-2-5 record, a 3.79 GAA and a 0.871 SV%, Samsonov is showing to the League that he struggles to find his rhythm. Any team couting on him for the playoffs should be worried.
It would be surprising to see the Leafs get a great offer for Samsonov. To send him away, they'll likely need to include a pick or a prospect in the deal.
Do you think Samsonov will be traded?
As seen on The Hockey News - Report: Maple Leafs Have 'Dipped' Their Toes into the Goaltending Trade Market Amid Difficulties at the Position
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 24 | 1505 ANSWERS MAJOR: Maple Leafs Confirmed to be in Talks to Fix Their Biggest Problem Do you think Samsonov will be traded? | ||
| Yes | 1080 | 71.8 % |
| No | 425 | 28.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
