Ilya Samsonov has been the best goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs thus far but it shouldn’t gurantee him the start for Game 1 of the playoffs.
When you look back at the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltenders over the past five years, they’ve been good, but nothing better than that. Freddie Andersen and Jack Campbell were NHL All-Star’s, deservingly so, but when it was time to win a big game, they didn’t deliver.
The fans loved both of them and it feels like they’re currently feeling the same sentiment towards Ilya Samsonov. The 26-year-old is on a one-year deal with the Leafs, so it’s quite possible that this will be his first and last season with Toronto, but the fanbase always has a soft-spot for the goaltender.