Ilya Samsonov had a career year in his first season with the Leafs. Posting a 2.33 GAA and a .919 sv%, Samsonov proved he could be the Leafs future in net. However, despite his strong performance last year, the Leafs are hesitant to give him a long-term extension.
However, the Leafs are hesitant due to how he is a streaky goalie and has yet to display sustained success as a starter. This could result in the Leafs signing Samsonov to a short deal such as a one-year $3 million deal. This would give the Leafs an opportunity to see how he performs next year and then pay him accordingly.
This could backfire though as a one-year deal walks him directly to unrestricted free agency where he could walk for absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, the Leafs have a difficult decision to make and will need to make sure they dot all of their I's and cross all of their T's.
