TORONTO – Ilya Samsonov is the new Jack Campbell. (Young and cheap with a first-round pedigree and something to prove.)
Matt Murray is the new Petr Mrazek. (Experienced and expensive. Areas of brilliance marred by bouts of injury. Risk.)
And hope is the new confidence.
“It would be a great thing for us if they both play the way we think they can,” Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Wednesday after finalizing the goaltending duo.
“They’re both young enough that we’ll give them the run here and see if they can become the long-term solution in net.”
“We hope they both play as well as they can.”
If you noticed any fingers crossed in the Toronto Maple Leafs netminder reveal for the 2022-23 season, you’re not alone.
This is a double bounce bet.
The five-year term Campbell won in Edmonton on Wednesday was an immediate repudiation for the Maple Leafs and put a freeze on serious negotiations.
Dubas pointed out that Murray, 28, is two years younger than Campbell and has three years less on his contract.
“At the end of the day, you have to make decisions that are best for the future of the team, regardless of what you personally think of the guy,” Dubas said.
GM downplayed how much Sault Ste. The Marie connection is included in the deal for ex-Hound Murray. More important were his Stanley Cup appearances with Pittsburgh and the solid starts he had for the Senators after being called up from the AHL’s Belleville in January.
“What he did in Pittsburgh five years ago and then the way he played the last half of (this past) year kind of shows that’s still there,” said Dubas, who has put Murray through a series of medicals on the Sunday before you sign the deal.
“Knowing a person’s character always helps. Previous experience with it always helps. But if it wasn’t for that pedigree and what he’s achieved and what he’s shown, then it wouldn’t be a good fit.”
Given the minimal options available — and the number of teams hunting — in the backup goalie market, Dubas made a much more palatable gamble on Samsonov.
The 25-year-old was drafted by Washington in the first round in 2015.
He signed for $1.8 million and has a legitimate chance to start more games than Murray next season.
“He really wanted it to be a one-year show-me, bet-on-yourself deal, which is not always the case for players who come out of that shock of not being QO when he didn’t expect it Dubas said. “That was impressive to me.”
In 94 games spread over three seasons in Washington, Samsonov posted a .902 save percentage and a 3.02 goals-against average. Not exactly wow numbers, but he won more games than he lost (53-23-10).
Capitals GM Brian McLellan tried to trade Samsonov, but couldn’t find a partner. The organization then declined to give him a qualifying offer of $2.2 million, leaving the first rounder to go for nothing.
According to those close to the team, Samsonov’s injury in ATV leading up to the 2020 bubble playoffs did not endear him to the team.
Forget the numbers, advises one source.
Samsonov may be athletic and capable of making highlights, but he can also drift or lose his stick.
The Russian has built a reputation for conceding soft, untimely goals in close games that would kill momentum.
“The team gave him a lot of opportunities to take the No. 1 job and he couldn’t have sustained success,” the source said.
A new challenge for new goalkeeping coach Curtis Sandford.
As for the skaters in front of his brand new $6.49 million tandem, Dubas said he’s still very much open for business, both in terms of picking up a second wave of cheap UFAs and exploring the trade market.
“We have room. We have roster spots still available for, really, all different types of players,” Dubas maintained.
“They’re obviously going to have to be people who look at our situation and say, ‘I can go there for a year or two at relatively low dollars and the group will be right for me to be successful and then make it into something greater.’ “
The new No. 1 priority is a big, strong right back who throws the body and plays with a competitive edge. Zak Bogosyan became Ilya Lyubushkin became … who?
Success has been thin, with Justin Brown returning to Philadelphia and Erik Gudbranson and Ben Kiarot making millions in Columbus and Detroit, respectively.
The Maple Leafs have begun rebuilding their fourth line.
“We’d like it to be a line that we can rely on heavily for us as well as our others, but just more physicality, more competitiveness and driving the game down the ice and relying on Sheldon (Keefe) that way.” Dubas said.
With Jason Spezza (retired), Ondrej Kase (undrafted) and Colin Blackwell (UFA) no longer on the roster, Dubas began digging through cap-friendly, bottom-six options to find some gems.
Enter right winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel and center Adam Gaudet – two energetic guys with a defensive presence who will be relied upon to prevent more goals than they score.
Both signed one-year, risk-free contracts. The first for $1 million, the second for $750,000.
Aube-Kubel, 26, was a second-round pick of Philadelphia in 2014 who was assigned to the Colorado Avalanche at the start of the 2021-22 season and enjoyed a tremendous increase in production (11 goals, 11 assists in 67 games). playing under Jared Bednar’s up-tempo system.
An occasional healthy scratch on the title-rich Avalanche forward, Aubé-Koubel has dented the Stanley Cup more often than the scoreboard in the postseason (zero points in 14 playoff games).
No matter. Speedster Aubé-Kubel is cut from the David Kämpf school of crime. Goals are gravy.
The projected winger started just 38.2 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone last season and still moved the game forward and finished with a plus-11, averaging under 10 minutes and throwing a few hits a night.
What Aubé-Kubel didn’t do last season was kill penalties. Ilya Mikheev did it.
“Sheldon really felt he could add a lot. With the loss of Ilya’s speed, Nikolay provides that — a forecheck, pressure, able to get up the ice. He’s been shown in the majors and also in the American League and in the NHL, if he has the time and space, he can shoot as well,” Dubas said.
“I think Cup experience always helps. How much? I’m not sure. But you’d rather have it than not have it.’
Pencil in Gaudette as 4C in Toronto.
The 25-year-old right-handed shooter scored five goals and added nine assists during the 2021-22 season for the Blackhawks and Senators. The Braintree, Mass. native is a depth addition with 218 games of major league experience who could improve the Marlies, if not the Leafs.
Dubas’ eye was drawn to Gaudet’s six-goal, eight-point performance at the world championships in May, shades of the forward’s point-per-game production at Northeastern University four years ago.
“I looked confident again and a little empowered with Team USA. So it’s one of those bets that we make a few times every summer, and he seems very eager to get to work,” Dubas said.
“We learned that he had some kind of illness that made him lose a lot of weight, and now he’s figured it out. So he is stronger than ever. And we just think that’s a guy we can work with here and see what happens.”
Disposable
• RFA Rasmus Sandin remains without a contract, but agent Louis Gross had his hands full with the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes.
Dubas isn’t worried about finding a common ground with the defenseman and reaffirmed how important both Sandin and Timothy Lillegren are to the future of his blue line: “I don’t think it’s all too complicated a situation.”
• Dubas was equally concerned that RFA Pierre Engvall still hasn’t been signed: “It’s going to be an arbitration decision at worst, but hopefully we can get it done before then.”
• The Ilyas family has officially moved on – and got paid handsomely for it. Mikheev (four years at $4.75 million) will make more in his first year as a Vancouver Canuck than he did in his entire three-year stint as a Maple Leaf.
“It’s been a great three years in Toronto and it’s a great story for us and the player who came in as a free agent and will try to make money using the resources we had,” Dubas said. “He put in a great effort coming back from injury and he’s obviously had a great season here with us. So that’s great for him.”
• Heavyweight rental defenseman Lyubushkin, 28, has made a total of $4.15 million in his first four NHL seasons.
He would more than double that in his next two seasons with the Sabres.
“We’d love to have him back,” Dubas said. “But it’s also a huge opportunity for him and his family as an unrestricted free agent.”
“I’m really happy for him that he was able to find a good spot and Buffalo will be great for him as they continue to come along with their young D.”
• Former Leaf Blackwell signed a two-year, $1.2 million per season contract with Chicago. His previous peak was $725,000 AAV and he should get plenty of opportunities in a rebuilding squad.
• Dubas chuckled at the idea of moving Mitch Marner to center: “It’s not something that’s ever come up. Mitch has been a first-team All-Star right winger for the last two years, so we have enough things to worry about, not those things.”
• The Mason Marchment trade still has legs. Dennis Malgin, 25, returns to the Maple Leafs on a one-year deal after spending the past two seasons lighting up the Swiss circuit (94 points in 93 games).
• Ondrej Kase did not receive a qualifying offer because he had arbitration rights. He ended up in Carolina for one year and $1.5 million.
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