Former NHLer Ilya Samsonov signs two-year deal in KHL

Samsonov’s KHL rights were held by Metallurg Magnitogorsk, the last team he played for before coming to North America in 2018. His rights were traded to Sochi to facilitate the deal.

Samsonov had spent the last seven seasons on this side of the pond, first coming over in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, the team that took the Magnitogorsk native in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft. After spending one season with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears, Samsonov became a backup to Braden Holtby for the 2019-20 season.

Although he had a couple of promising seasons in Washington, Samsonov’s game never blossomed into becoming a No. 1 player with the team. It led to him signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2022. In his first season as a Leaf, he had the best year of his NHL career, going 27-10-5 in 42 games, notching a 2.33 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and four shutouts. Samsonov helped Toronto win its first playoff series in 19 years, ultimately losing to the Florida Panthers in the second round.

After losing the starting job to Joseph Woll during the 2023-24 season and a disappointing Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins, the Russian backstop was on the move again, signing with the Vegas Golden Knights. During the 2024-25 campaign, he posted a 16-9-4 record with a 2.82 goals-against average, an 8.91 save percentage, and two shutouts. He did not play in the playoffs as the Golden Knights were eliminated in the second round by the Edmonton Oilers.

In 200 NHL games, the 28-year-old had a record of 118-48-25, with a 2.77 GAA, a .902 SV% and 15 shutouts. In 22 postseason appearances, he went 6-14 with a 3.05 GAA and a .901 SV%.

Before joining the Caps, Samsonov played parts of four seasons with Metallurg. In 73 regular-season games, he went 33-16-9 with a 2.20 GAA, a .929 SV% and seven shutouts.