Treliving on rumors that Samsonov won't join AHL Marlies: “We have to do something different.”

Yesterday, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ila Samsonov officially cleared waivers and was assigned to the team's AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies.

Today though, Samsonov was absent at the Marlies' practice according to Leafs/Marlies reporter Josh Kloke of The Athletic. Further to that though, Kloke reports that Samsonov will not be practicing with the team at all this week

Check it out:

Needless to say, Samsonov won't be playing any games with the Marlies this week either. 

Rather, it looks like the team is taking a slow approach with Samsonov and will be working with him off-ice in order to help build his confidence back up. Which, personally, I think is a smart move. Samsonov is a solid goaltender with good mechanics. He didn't just wake up and forget how to stop pucks, but his confidence is so low right now that he's struggling to make even the routine saves. Building him back up so he can get back to doing what he does, is the right move.

Ilya Samsonov has cleared waivers and will join the Toronto Marlies.

He won't play in any games this week. The Leafs/Marlies team are going to work with him on and off the ice to get his confidence & game back.

While this development is being billed as Samsonov somehow 'defying' the Leafs' management group by some media outlets, I'm not so sure. GM Brad Treliving has been pretty up front that the team was taking a wide angle approach to dealing with Samsonov and his struggles, so this move isn't really a surprise.

"We know Ilya has gone through a difficult time," Treliving told reporters Tuesday, following the Leafs' morning skate at Crypto.com Arena. "I just felt strongly we have to do something different to help Ilya."

Compare this situation with the one playing out between the Edmonton Oilers and former Leafs netminder Jack Campbell and it's like night and day. Oilers GM Ken Holland dumped Campbell in the AHL and essentially challenged him to work his way back up to the AHL. Nearly two months into that experiment and it looks like Campbell can't even hold down a starting role in the AHL. His confidence is likely at an all-time low. The big difference though is that the Leafs aren't committed to Samsonov long-term, while the Oilers have four more seasons of Campbell at $5 million per season. Yikes...