In Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov Maple L

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Goaltending was the Maple Leafs' Orlando Magic T-Shirts  main concern heading into the offseason. General manager Kyle Dubas addre sed the i sue --- sort of.Toronto heads into next season with a goalie duo of Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, a completely different pairing than last year's. Jack Campbell signed with the Oilers as a free agent and .Murray was with the Senators last season. Dubas . The veteran struggled the past two seasons in Ottawa, losing the starting role to Anton Forsberg and dealing with injuries.Samsonov signed with the Maple Leafs as a free agent after splitting time in the crease with Vitek Vanecek in Washington. He was given opportunities to become the No. 1 goalie with the Capitals but never could take advantage of D.J. Augustin Jersey  them.MOREubas has made two risky decisions heading into next season. The team , but are Murray and Samsonov enough to get them beyond the first round of the playoffs?Matt Murray 2021-22 statsMurray had a tumultuous 2021-22 season. It started with an injury in his second start, included a brief stint in the AHL in late November and ended with him being sidelined for most of March and all of April with an upper-body injury.In his second season with the Senators, Murray made just 20 starts, going 5-12-2 with a 3.05 goals-agains average and a . Aaron Gordon Jersey 906 save percentage. He ended the season on a six-game losing streak and gave up 13 goals total in his final two starts.His last game came on March 5, before he was sidelined for the remainder of the season.Looking at advanced stats, Murray finished with a goals saved above expected per 60 (GSAE/60) rate of0.163, which ranked 18th in the league among goalies who played in at least 10 games. His 0.53 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) was 24th.The Murray that helped lead the Penguins to Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 hasn't been seen for a few years. The Maple Leafs' defense will certainly be better than the Senators' D, but it's still a risk riding with the veteran.Ilya Samsonov 2021-22 statsSamsonov split time in Washington with Vanecek. Neither one truly took over as the No. 1 starter.The 25-year- Mo Bamba Jersey old ended the year with 44 appearances (39 starts), a 23-12-5 record, a 3.02 GAA and an .896 save percentage. Vanecek began the Caps' first-round playoff series against the Panthers but pulled in Game 2 and Samsonov took over the rest of the way. He grabbed just one win in four starts and gave up 13 goals on 148 shots.MORE:Samsonov finished the campaign with an ugly-2.01 WAR, which was 62nd in the NHL among goaltenders who played at least 10 games. His-0.307 GSAE/60 was 55th.It's safe to say it was not a great season for Samsonov, who relied heavily on the  Anfernee Hardaway Jersey Capitals' offense to get him his wins. He was set to be a restricted free agent this summer but Washington elected not to give him his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.Will Matt Murray & Ilya Samsonov be better than Jack Campbell & Petr Mrazek?Obviously, we don't know the answer to that question yet. But looking at how the Leafs' goalie duo Shaquille O'Neal Jersey  performed last year compared to Murray and Samsonov, I would say that this season's tandem is better.For as good as Campbell was during the beginning of the season  and he was sensational  he really fell off at the back end of the season. After the New Year, he went16-4-4 in 26 games with a 3.27 GAA and .893 save percentage. He ended the season with a WAR of-0.19 and a GSAE/60 of-0.165.Mrazek was horrific, with a record of 12-6-0, a 3.34 GAA .888 save percentage. His GSAE/60 was -0.668 and his WAR was -1.94.Last season, the Toronto defense Tracy McGrady Jersey  posted an expected goals against rating of 230.21, sixth-best in the league, but their team goaltending had a save percentage of .904, 22nd in the league and the worst among playoff teams other than the Capitals.The bottom line is the personnel on the blue line and the system in their own zone weren't the i sue for the Leafs. It was goaltending. The defense is staying about the same.Toronto has a better defensive system in place than Washington and Ottawa, so both Murray and Samsonov should realistically see improvement in their numbers.The last thing is, what other options were out there? Re-sign Campbell?  Jordan Bone Jersey Bring in Darcy Kuemper? The amount of available goalies was minimal and none were a guarantee. Almost all of them would be "risky" options heading into next season.This will either work and Dubas will look like a genius for pairing the two together, or they'll both look like they did last year and the Maple Leafs will be looking for a new GM. Related Articles