Toronto Maple Leafs’ Ilya Samsonov, Buffalo Sabres’ Eric Comrie placed on waivers

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed Ilya Samsonov on waivers, with the Buffalo Sabres doing the same with Eric Comrie.

Both goalies have had disappointing starts to the season, with the option for both teams to send their respective keepers to the AHL if they clear.

Samsonov has a record of 5-2-6 for the Maple Leafs, along with a 3.94 GAA and .862 SV%. Earlier in the season, he lost the starter job in Toronto to Joseph Woll, who looked good until suffering an ankle injury. The Woll injury, as devastating as it could have been for the team, also provided Samsonov with an opportunity to regain the starters’ crease.

That didn’t happen, as he was surpassed by veteran Martin Jones. Jones has proved to be a good stop-gap until Woll comes back and the best option to be the backup goalie for the rest of the season.

The Maple Leafs are expected to call up goalie prospect Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Marlies. The 24-year-old netminder has never played an NHL game before and only has 17 games of AHL experience. The Leafs are confident that a Jones/Hildeby tandem will be good enough to weather the storm until Woll returns. The Leafs’ next game is a road matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on January 2, which is the earliest date for Hildeby to make his NHL debut, if they decide to start him for that game.

Like Samsonov in Toronto, Comrie hasn’t lived up to expectations. The Sabres kept Comrie so he could be a steadying force for Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net. And while none of these three goalies have been very good this year, Comrie has been the worst of the bunch.

In seven games, Comrie has a record of 1-5-0 with a 4.01 GAA and .863 SV%, eerily similar numbers to Samsonov. It doesn’t make sense for NHL teams to carry three goalies on the roster so Comrie ended up being the odd-man out and will return to the Rochester Americans, assuming he clears waivers first.