Washington Capitals: Top 3 players who will have biggest impact in 2021-22

#2 Ilya Samsonov

When the Washington Capitals re-signed goaltender Ilya Samsonov to just a one year contract, they sent a clear message to the kid. They trust him for at least one more year, but in this upcoming season he must prove himself in order to secure his future.

To make matters even more challenging, he will be competing with goaltender Vitek Vanecek. Vanecek was thrust into the starter’s role at the beginning of last season when Samsonov tested positive for COVID-19. Samsonov wound up back on the COVID protocols list at the tail end of the regular season.

To make matters worse, Samsonov was late to a team function along with Evgeny Kuznetsov. So the young Russian not only has to improve from last season on the ice but clean up his act off the ice as well.

So now that we talked about off the ice let’s break down Samsonov on the ice. Last season, Samsonov finished with a 13-4-1 record with a 2.69 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. That’s a slight dip from a decent rookie season where he went 16-6-2 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.

Samsonov and Vanecek will battle in training camp and preseason for that coveted position of starting goaltender for opening night.