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John Tavares Shares His Thoughts on the Maple Leafs Waiving Ilya Samsonov


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James Connelly
January 1, 2024  (7:47 PM)
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Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares celebrating a goal
Photo credit: Sportsnet

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a definitive decision to waive goaltender Ilya Samsonov and now captain John Tavares has commented on the move.

Tavares Comments On The Leafs Waiving Samsonov

Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to take drastic measures as they waived goaltender Ilya Samsonov. Today, he cleared waivers and will now play with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
Ilya Samsonov has cleared waivers and will join the Toronto Marlies.

He won't play in any games this week. The Leafs/Marlies team are going to work with him on and off the ice to get his confidence & game back.

Toronto Sun reporter Terry Koshan interviewed Tavares following the move and got the captain's true thoughts.
Tavares: "We feel for Sammy in the way that it has gone. As a team and individually, you're disappointed that in a lot of those games, we just didn't play better ... We love him as a teammate. So definitely feel for him." #Leafs

While the Leafs wish they could have done more for Samsonov, they were still losing games where they put up 5+ goals which is simply disappointing.

Leafs Look Ahead Without Samsonov

With Samsonov now assigned to the AHL, the Leafs will utilize a tandem of Martin Jones and Dennis Hildeby until Joseph Woll returns from injury.
jones and hildeby bonding on the ice as the leafs new starter and back up goalies

The pair of Jones and Hildeby started the season off as the Marlies tandem but now have both been promoted to the NHL and will look to backstop the Leafs to a couple of wins.
As it stands, the Leafs are third in the Atlantic division but could jump up to first with consistent goaltending. Only time will tell if Samsonov returns or not but at the moment he must focus on his rehabilitation and conditioning stint.

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