Samsonov Reveals that he's Temporarily Leaving the Maple Leafs

He had to miss a game in Ottawa due to a minor injury, his wife's due date is also rapidly approaching, with their first born child on the way.

These two events, in combination with the fact that Samsonov is trying to give the Leafs a good push for the playoffs are most likely what contributed to his poor performance when he rejoined the Leafs in their recent game against the Islanders.

Last night Samsonov posted an awful .786 save percentage, it was clear that he was distracted by something else.

Matt Murray has picked up some of the slack, with an incredible performance against Ottawa, Sheldon Keefe should have started Murray instead.

In a post-game interview, Ilya Samsonov explained that he was not all there mentally, stating that he had a lot of important things on his mind, and that he is flying back to Toronto to be with his wife.

The Leafs are playing in Florida on Thursday, before playing back to back to back against Carolina and Nashville.

If Ilya Samsonov's wife has not had their child by then, Keefe will most likely play Murray and Joseph Woll for the rest of the week.

As seen on Maple Leafs Daily -
Ilya Samsonov reveals that he's leaving the team with 3 games remaining on their road trip