The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be buyers of some sort during the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. The question is, though: how aggressive will they be? Well, when it comes to their goalie situation, things do get interesting. Joseph Woll will return sometime in the next three to six weeks, and if Martin Jones and Ilya Samsonov continue to play well, the club will have three capable goalies.
The truth is, they aren’t going to move Woll since he is the future of the crease. While they could part ways with Jones, I feel that the organization will give him the chance to stay with the team because he helped save their season. This leaves Samsonov, and if he keeps playing this well, the Maple Leafs could fetch a decent haul for him. However, that doesn’t mean the Maple Leafs will trade him; they could use his full cap hit of $3.55 million and allocate it elsewhere. If they do, here are three potential trade destinations for Samsonov.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings looked like a Stanley Cup contender early in the season. They seemed to have everything going for them. Especially their goaltender, Cam Talbot, was so good that he earned a spot in the 2024 All-Star Game. Unfortunately, things went south fast. Pheonix Copley was injured with a lower-body injury, which eventually forced him onto the long-term injury reserve (LTIR).
The Kings’ general manager (GM) Rob Blake called up David Rittich who has served as the backup, but now their goalie tandem has faced adversity and hasn’t bounced back fully. If they want to save their season and force their way into the playoffs, they need to acquire a goalie. Sadly, they are close to the cap, which means it’ll need to be dollar for dollar unless the team agrees to some salary retention.
Related: Maple Leafs’ 2024 Trade Deadline Targets: Secondary Scoring
Acquiring Samsonov from the Maple Leafs could be their best option. Yes, he has struggled this season, but a fresh start may help him. The Kings’ defence core could also be considered better defensively than the Maple Leafs, which could help him settle in. The most difficult part of this trade would be the cap hit. The Kings need space, as do the Maple Leafs. The easiest way to make this trade would be for both teams to address their needs. It would be surprising if GM Brad Treliving agreed to retain his salary. But it would be less surprising if he used this trade to acquire a defenceman with a similar cap hit, like Matt Roy, for $3.1 million.
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are in a similar situation to the Kings. Their goalie tandem hasn’t been the best, and they will most likely be on the hunt for a goaltender come trade deadline time. Right now, their goalies are Vitek Vanacek and Nico Daws; it did include Akira Schmid at one point, but he was sent back to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets. The Devils would be a serious Stanley Cup contender if they had the goaltending to back up their elite forward group. Unfortunately, they don’t, but they could get some help if they acquired Samsonov from the Maple Leafs. This trade would be interesting for numerous reasons, but the most unique one would be reuniting Vanacek and Samsonov from their days with the Washington Capitals.
The Devils are again in a similar situation to the Kings with their cap space or lack thereof. Yes, right now they have approximately $9 million in cap space; once Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton return from injury, that is all gone. This could be after the season ends and the cap space doesn’t matter, which would help them take on the entirety of Samsonov’s cap hit. Since Martin Brodeur’s era ended, the organization has truly struggled in the goalie department. It has been their Achilles heel for several years, knowing that GM Todd Fitzgerald will be searching for a goalie to help them in games later in the season and into the playoffs. A player that comes to mind that may help the money work for both sides is Curtis Lazar and his cap hit of $1 million.
Honourable Mention: Seattle Kraken
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are in an interesting spot this season. They weren’t expected to do as well as they have this season. Due to that, they will most likely be active in the trade market. With the latest news that starting goalie Carter Hart has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the organization, their top priority may just be goaltending. This is the year of breakout players for the Flyers, and they have found another solid goalie in Samuel Ersson. He has been very good this season for his club, with a 2.60 goals-against average (GAA), a .890 SV% and a record of 12-9-3. This has been the team’s silver lining of the season – the emergence of Ersson in orange and black. Unfortunately, he will now have an even heavier workload in the absence of Hart. If Treliving does make Samsonov available, it wouldn’t be shocking if GM Danny Briere calls him to ask the price.
Related: Petr Mrazek: From Maple Leafs Failure to Blackhawks Extension
Samsonov and Ersson, as a tandem for the rest of the season, have a lot of potential. Both of them seem to love the external competition that comes with having a steady, reliable goalie as their counterpart. This could make both goalies play better and help the team get wins late in the season. To make this deal work, the Flyers would need to place Cal Peterson on waivers or send him back down to the AHL due to his emergency call-up. This would give the Flyers a portion of Peterson’s cap hit of $5 million to use. Again, if the deal can work with the money, Treliving may request a serviceable defenceman in return, like Sean Walker and his cap hit of $2.65 million.
Overall, it isn’t confirmed by anyone that the Maple Leafs will trade Samsonov or even make him available. It is just hard to see them not doing this if Woll returns to his previous form and Jones can be a reliable backup. Now, some will wonder why a team would trade for him if he was on waivers and cleared earlier this season. Well, that happens; at the time, no one wanted his cap hit. But now as we approach the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, it is a different story. Teams need goalies and are willing to pay for them, so the Maple Leafs should capitalize on it if they can.