Ilya Samsonov has signed a new contract with the Washington Capitals.

here we go. begs the question if they trade Holtby after next season - keeping them both around after Holtbys current contract expires will probably be superfluous and expensive.

They'll trade Grubauer before Holtby. Especially given the playoff performances of both. Samsonov will play at least two seasons in the AHL. Maybe they can sign Khudobin or Ward to be a back up

I'm thinking the caps are in a similar situation as Tampa with Bishop and Vasilevskiy - Samsonov has nothing to prove in the AHL anymore. if they trade Grubauer now, they can go with Holtby-Samsonov next year and for 2019/2020 Samsonov could be taking over at best and split the starts with Holtby at worst.

Samsonov hasn't played in the AHL yet. He's played in the KHL and done well, but the KHL (and European leagues as whole) don't create the same net front presence as we see in North America. That will take some adjusting to figure out how to play around the guys in front.

Could this announcement been done later? Caps are in a playoff battle. Is shouldn't affect their play but what are the trade eligible Holtby and Grubauer thinking.

The NHL’s next elite goaltender has arrived

Next year, he either gets starters time in Hershey with some NHL stars sprinkled in, or he gets the backup role. I’d personally expect the Caps to sign a guy like Lehtonen to be Holtby’s backup, trade Grubauer and let Samsonov carry a heavy workload

Yup I agree!! Samsonov will be a crazy good goalie and that is scary for a penguins fan!

mmm, I would actually see how Samsonov does in his first AHL season before spittin' any "trade Holtby!" taekz. Goalie development is notoriously finicky and non-linear, even for general hockey player standards.

it's fine to say, "yeah, he could be good," but anointing him the starter before he's played a game on North American ice is hasty.

if you really think the caps are going to stuff him in the AHL for two+ years you're going to have a worse situation than what the Flyers had with Bob... He'll be playing in the NHL sooner than you think or he'll go back to Russia.

It won't be a full two years. Probably 1+ like Vas in Tampa with short stints in the NHL

I would say more it's more like the pens situation, but add in grubauer. If im the gm I trade grubauer now, have samsanov in ahl for 1-2 years bring up to battle with Holtby and then trade Holtby. if samsanov adapts quickly and plays well I think holtby could be a cap for 1 season or so

I would rather say cam ward, lehtonen isnt much good anymore

Lehtonen put up a .912 last season and showed he can still succeed in a backup role, while Ward put up a .906 behind a defense that doesn't give up a lot of shots. Advantage Lehtonen.

I see what your saying but I still stand by Cam Ward over Lehtonen.

The best goalie imo outside the NHL. Carried Mettallurg to the finals last year and the year before at just 19/20 years old.

Happy Trails Philipp! Grubauer's value might have taken a hit from his short playoff performance but he proved during the RS that he can be a solid starter in the NHL. He is easily the best goalie available on the UFA or RFA trade market (yes, I think he's better than Lehner) and someone better let the caps win a trade this summer if they can't win a damn playoff series lol

I think they get rid of Grubauer and put Samsonov in his place as Holtby's backup for now. Until he fully grows when that happens you can get rid of Holtby. The thing is Grubauer doesn't have a contract after this year. You can keep Holtby for the rest of his contract, or just keep him for one year and trade him next season.

I voted no just for fun

Apparently, Maclellan promised Samsonov a heavy workload in Hershey for next year, so I expect that's where he starts. We can trade Grubauer and sign a replacement, cheaper backup.

the new generation is starting to fill up the league...

Gibson, Vasilevskiy, Murray, Hellebuyck.... and soon Jaros, Demko, Samsanov and Hart..