Ilya Samsonov said he doesn’t miss the traffic in Toronto.
There remains a soft spot in the goaltender’s heart, though, for the two seasons he spent with the Maple Leafs.
“Great time,” Samsonov, now tending goal for the Vegas Golden Knights, said on Wednesday morning. “Nice two years, a lot of opportunity.
“Last year, it was tough, but I feel better right now and I know how to work (through it) if you have some bad days. You don’t worry about it anymore. You need to continue moving.”
Samsonov, you will recall, struggled through the first several months of the 2023-24 season before the Leafs placed him on waivers at the end of last December. Samsonov spent a couple of weeks away from the team, working on his game and mindset before returning to action on Jan. 14.
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Samsonov eventually found a rhythm again, but when the Leafs’ season ended with a first-round loss against the Boston Bruins, the club decided to go in a different goaltending direction.
Samsonov signed a one-year, $1.8-million US deal with Vegas in free agency.
On Tuesday night, Samsonov had dinner with Leafs rookie Nikita Grebenkin, 24 hours ahead of the latter’s NHL debut.
In six games with Vegas, Samsonov is 3-2-1 with an .897 save percentage. With Adin Hill starting against the Leafs, Samsonov will get the call for the Golden Knights on Thursday in Ottawa against the Senators.
“Pretty good, like I come home,” Samsonov said of his first work trip to Toronto since leaving for the desert. “Everybody’s so friendly.
“We did not win the Stanley Cup, but we had a nice group. Good time.”
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