A former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie is heading back to North America after spending last season in the KHL. The San Jose Sharks have announced that they have signed former Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season. Samsonov returning to North America comes after he played for HK Sochi in the KHL last season.
In 14 games with the KHL club in 2025-26, the former Maple Leafs netminder posted a 3-8-0 record, a .903 save percentage, a 3.27 goals-against average, and one shutout. Samsonov has plenty of competition to make the Sharks' NHL roster out of training camp. This is because San Jose has goaltenders Yaroslav Askarov, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Eric Comrie all under contract this campaign.
While this is the case, the former Maple Leafs goalie will now be fighting to make San Jose's roster. Samsonov last played in the NHL during the 2024-25 season with the Vegas Golden Knights. In 29 games for Vegas that campaign, he posted a 16-9-4 record, an .891 save percentage, a 2.82 goals-against average, and two shutouts.
Before joining Vegas, Samsonov played two seasons with the Maple Leafs from 2022-23 and 2023-24. His first season with Toronto was a success, as he had a 27-10-5 record, a .919 save percentage, a 2.33 goals-against average, and four shutouts in 42 games. However, he struggled during his second and final season in Toronto, as he had an .890 save percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average in 40 games.
It will now be interesting to see if Samsonov can earn a spot on the Sharks' NHL roster. At a minimum, he should be a useful depth goalie for San Jose to have around if injuries arise.
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