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MAPLE LEAFS FORCED TO SIGN ANOTHER AMATEUR GOALIE AFTER NHL BLOCKS ATTEMPTED
RECALL


By Joshua Kloke and Jonas Siegel
Apr 10, 2023

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUNRISE, Fla. — For the second game in a row, the Maple Leafs signed an amateur
goalie to back up Ilya Samsonov.

Over the weekend, it was 23-year-old University of Toronto goalie Jett
Alexander, who even played the final 70 seconds of a 7-1 win over the Habs. And
against the Panthers, it was 21-year-old Nick Chenard, who sported an .873 save
percentage in 35 regular season games for the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL this
season.





“Ideal circumstances passed us by long ago,” coach Sheldon Keefe said while
facing the media pre-game. “So here we are.”

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So here we are, but why? Why couldn’t the Leafs just bring Joseph Woll back up
from the Marlies to be the No. 2 behind Samsonov? And what does this mean for
Samsonov for the remainder of the regular season?

According to the team, the league has deemed the Leafs are not eligible for a
cap-exempt emergency recall.

An email to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was not immediately returned.

Which means the salary-cap highwire act the Leafs tried to execute with the
signing of Matthew Knies wasn’t permitted to go through as planned by the NHL.

To merit an emergency recall, aka Woll, the Leafs needed to play a game under
what’s dubbed a “roster emergency” — less than 18 skaters and two goalies. Not
12 forwards, six defencemen, and two goalies. Eighteen skaters and two goalies.
In this case, less than two goalies. But to qualify for that roster emergency,
the Leafs needed to have a goalie who was “unfit or unable to play”, according
to the CBA, because of injury, illness, or suspension.

The Leafs, from what we can observe, didn’t meet that qualification.

Woll wasn’t hurt or ill. The Leafs sent him down so they could sign Knies.

Their claim that Matt Murray was in consideration to back up Samsonov over the
weekend didn’t pass the smell test. Murray suffered a head injury just over a
week ago and hadn’t been on the ice as of Saturday morning.

How was he suddenly going to be available to back up against the Canadiens?

And indeed, Keefe said Monday that Murray was unavailable for backup duty
against the Panthers and Lightning.

“Not a question for me,” Keefe said of why the Leafs were dressing an amateur
again on Monday night. “I don’t have the details on that.”

“The goaltending stuff has been unfortunate with how all that’s played out with
injuries and such,” Keefe said.

The big question now is whether the Leafs will be able to recall Woll to play in
Tampa on Tuesday night. If Saturday’s circumstances didn’t meet the
qualification for an emergency recall, why would those on Monday night?

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The Leafs still won’t be playing short a goalie because of injury or illness.
And while they do have injuries up front — with Calle Järnkrok and Sam Lafferty
both day to day — they still have more than enough skaters to get to 18, what
with the nine defencemen currently on the roster. And of course, this isn’t
about skaters.

Does that mean Samsonov will be forced to play both ends of the back-to-back?
Would the Leafs really do that? Will they have any other choice?

It feels like it’s worth noting that Chenard last played for the Attack on April
6, allowing three goals on 25 shots in 40 minutes of play as the Attack were
eliminated by the London Knights in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

“We’re taking it one day at a time here,” Keefe offered.

What this all comes back to is the decision to sign Knies when they did — with
less than a week left in the regular season.

Obviously, the Leafs decided it was worth it for Knies to grab some NHL
experience before he was possibly required in the playoffs. But what it’s
required is this — an unusual set of circumstances that will see an amateur as
the backup two games in a row. (That and Murray being hurt when LTIR was no
longer available.)

Keefe noted that it wasn’t his plan to play Knies on Monday night.

It’s hard to imagine that any of this was to plan.

(Photo of Jett Alexander: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)




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