Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Ilya Samsonov Reveals Tragic News Explaining His Poor Play

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James Connelly
December 22, 2023 (11:36)

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Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov has been struggling between the pipes and has now revealed that he is also struggling between the ears.

Samsonov Struggling With His Mental Health During Poor Stretch

Lately, Ilya Samsonov has not been himself. He has been letting in soft goals and fans have been letting him have it. Last night he revealed that he is struggling mentally after letting in five goals and being pulled.

Ilya Samsonov says this is the worst stretch he's been in mentally in his career.

The Russian goaltender has not been great posting a 5-2-5 record while being pulled multiple times this season across 14 starts. He currently has an .871 sv% and a 3.79 GAA.

When a goaltender is struggling mentally, his statistics struggle, and in turn, his team struggles. However, when a goaltender is going strong mentally, the opposite effect takes place.

The Leafs Need Samsonov To Bounce Back

Samsonov will likely meet with a sports psychologist or therapist if he has not done so already to get in a better headspace. The Leafs know what he can bring if he is on his A-game and they need it for the playoffs.

If Samsonov can bounce back, he can be the Leafs starter in the playoffs and help them on a deep playoff run and a hopeful Stanley Cup victory. Only time will tell if Samsonov can get out of this rut or if this will be the demise of his career as a Maple Leaf.