Ilya Samsonov has been nothing short of abysmal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023-24, and his continued poor play caused the Russian to be placed on waivers and demoted to the American Hockey League on Sunday.

Despite the move, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving is not giving up on the 26-year-old.

“Obviously, we know Ilya is going through a difficult time,” the GM explained on Tuesday. “When you go through this, you kinda look at a couple of options. You keep doing what you're doing and try to work through it, or you do something different. This plan, we looked at it, and I felt strongly that we had to do something different to help Ilya.”

Treliving also made it clear that the former Leafs starting goalie wasn't being punished for his play.

“This isn't punishment,” Treliving added. “We need him to get back to where he's capable of getting back to, and he wants to get there. If you knew exactly all the ways to fix things, you would do it, right?”

Samsonov has played to a .862 save percentage and 3.94 goals-against average in 2023-24, compiling a 5-2-6 record in the process. He ranks dead last among all goalies in goals saved above expected (-12.5) and second last in goals saved above average (-14.95) at all strengths.

The former Hershey Bear was put on the waiver wire by the Leafs just two days after getting hung for six goals on 21 shots in Friday's overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Ilya Samsonov unlikely to start in AHL

Treliving also made it clear that Samsonov wouldn't likely start for the Marlies anytime soon.

“We're using this week to get him some one-on-one time,” Treliving continued. “He'll be working with (Marlies goalie coach) Hannu Toivonen back in Toronto, our development team, our performance team off the ice. Really, it's a physical and a mental reset where he can get away from preparing for the next game and all the pressures that come with it.

“To me, a lot of what we're seeing here is, the mental drives the bus a little bit. It's hard to correct the physical – and maybe the technical side – when there's a lot going on. I think there's a lot going on with him. We're trying to let the air out of the balloon a little bit, give him a bunch of support, and just let him reset.”

Despite Ilya Samsonov's struggles, Martin Jones is fresh off a 3-0 shutout of the LA Kings on Tuesday night, and is looking like the starting goalie of the future in Canada's most populous city.

Dennis Hideby was called up on Monday to backup the veteran Jones. The Leafs return to action against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night as the California road trip continues.