Ilya Samsonov honors Leafs legend with jaw-dropping mask

The Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Ilya Samsonov went to salary arbitration after being unable to come to an agreement on a new deal; the Russian native would eventually be awarded a one year, $3.55 million deal. He's now set to be the Leafs starting goaltender for at least one more season, and the team has also added veteran Martin Jones to serve as backup. 

And for his second season with the Leafs, Samsonov appears to have pulled out all the stops when it comes to his mask artwork. Based on a recent publicity photo, he'll be honoring Maple Leafs fan favorite Curtis Joseph's iconic mask artwork on his own lid: 

While Joseph played for several teams during his career, his immediately recognizable "Cujo" mask artwork has gone down as one of the most beloved designs in hockey history. 

His 2022-23 record of 27-10-5 with a 2.33 goals against average and .919 save percentage was about as good a performance as anyone could have expected, and while his postseason numbers weren't stellar, he was still able to out-duel former Conn Smythe Trophy-winning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in Round 1. 

Recommended articles:

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