Ilya Samsonov and Linus Ullmark are no longer divisional rivals. In fact, they are no longer in the same conference. Samsonov joined the Vegas Golden Knights in NHL Free Agency. Meanwhile, Ullmark joined the Ottawa Senators through a trade with the Boston Bruins. Despite this, it seems as if there is still some bad blood between them.
An Instagram post recently went over the NHL Network's picks for the league's top 10 goalies. Coming in at number 10 on this list is Ullmark, who had some fantastic seasons with the Bruins in recent years. This post caught the attention of Samsonov, who fired off a now-deleted reply to the graphic.
Samsonov had a rough season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023-24. The now-Golden Knights puck-stopper went 23-7-8 with a goals-against average of 3.13 and an .890 save percentage. Ullmark, meanwhile, had a good season behind Jeremy Swayman in Boston. The Senators netminder went 22-10-7 with a 2.57 GAA and a .915 save percentage last year.
The root cause of the beef between Ilya Samsonov, Linus Ullmark
It's entirely possible that Ilya Samsonov meant to post this now-deleted comment from a burner account. In saying this, there is a bit of animosity between the Golden Knights goalie and Linus Ullmark. This could stem from an appearance on Leafs Morning Take by the now-Senators goaltender.
Ullmark joined the show to discuss the recent playoff series between the Maple Leafs and Bruins. Boston defeated Toronto in seven games to move on to the second round. Ullmark openly questioned Toronto's decision to keep Samsonov in the net despite his struggles.
“I was surprised that they kept Samsonov in for that many games against us in the playoffs,” Ullmark said, via The Hockey News. “I felt that every time we played the Leafs and he (Joseph Woll) was in net, it felt like it was more of a challenge even though I’m not a player. Just watching him, it looked like he was in so much more control of the situation that was thrown at him.”
Woll played three games in that series against the Bruins. And statistically, he dominated Boston. Woll played to an otherworldly .964 save percentage and a 0.86 GAA in those three games. Samsonov played the deciding Game 7 and played well. However, the Maple Leafs lost in overtime.
The Golden Knights and Senators play twice in the upcoming season. Interestingly, Samsonov circled the latter of the two dates. The Golden Knights host the Senators on October 25th. On November 21, Vegas travels north of the border to take on the Senators in Ottawa. In any event, it appears as if that late November game could be one to watch for potential fireworks.
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