Washington Capitals: Ilya Samsonov Signs One-Year Bridge Contract
By David Atlas
It’s official: the Washington Capitals have their goaltending tandem under contract for the upcoming season. Brian MacLellan announced earlier this afternoon that the club and Ilya Samsonov have come to terms on a one-year contract worth $2 million. After reacquiring Vitek Vanecek, the Capitals will roll with a young, talented duo in-net for the 2021-2022 season.
With limited cap-space, it was all but a forgone conclusion that Ilya Samsonov would sign a bridge contract. With Samsonov signed, the Capitals now have less than $700,000 in cap-space.
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This type of deal makes sense for both sides, the Caps need the cap flexibility that a shorter-term, lower AAV contract offers and Samsonov needs to prove that he can live up to his potential at the NHL level to secure a longer, more lucrative contract.
After an impressive rookie campaign in 2019-2020, backing up Braden Holtby, where Ilya Samsonov posted a 16-6-2 record to go alongside a .913 save percentage and goals against average of 2.55, he raised more questions than he answered in 2020-2021.
Set to become the team’s number one goalie, the former 22nd overall selection was hurt in an ATV accident during the COVID-pause and then the following season, he wound up sidelined due to breaking NHL COVID-19 protocols and contracting the virus in January.
Later on in the 2020-2021 season, with the playoffs just around the corner, Samsonov once again lost his starting job to Vitek Vanecek after being suspended by the team for being late to a team function and found himself on the COVID-19 unavailability list for the second time in the season.
LET'S GO, SAMMY‼️#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/kx2kx5lrSc
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) August 9, 2021
The ceiling is undoubtedly high for Samsonov, and this contract allows him to prove he can play at an elite-level like many believe he can.
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If Samsonov lives up to the hype, he could very well be negotiating a contract similar to the one that the New York Rangers just handed to their talented young Russian netminder, Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers just inked Shesterkin, with only one full season of experience under his belt, to a 4-year contract worth $5.65 million per year.