After one season back in his native Russia, goaltender Ilya Samsonov is coming back to North America to launch a potential NHL comeback. On Tuesday, it was announced that the San Jose Sharks had signed the 29-year-old netminder to a one-year, two-contract for the 2026-27 season.
According to PuckPedia, Samsonov’s deal carries a salary of $850,000 at the NHL level and $225,000 in the minor leagues.
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Samsonov, unless something drastically changes in training camp, is expected to be assigned to the American Hockey League for the first time since the 2020-21 season where he’ll play with the San Jose Barracuda.
While the Sharks won’t have to pay Samsonov a full NHL salary at the AHL level due to the two-way contract, he is still waiver-eligible which could present a problem if a team is very desperate for goaltending at the conclusion of preseason. More than likely, they shouldn’t have any issues getting him sent to the AHL though.
Samsonov is now the fourth goaltender in the Sharks organization with NHL experience along with Yaroslav Askarov, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Eric Comrie. The Magnitogorsk native previously had stints with the Washington Capitals (who selected him in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft), the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Last season, Samsonov made his return to the Kontinental Hockey League with HK Sochi. In 14 games, he registered a 3.27 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.
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