Siegel: The Maple Leafs can’t play Ilya Samsonov any longer

The time has come.

The Toronto Maple Leafs can no longer continue to roll Ilya Samsonov out there. It would be a disservice to the team — to his teammates and Sheldon Keefe’s coaching staff — to do so.

That became clear Friday night in Columbus.

The Leafs dominated the Blue Jackets, winning 73 percent of the expected goals, and still fell in overtime thanks in large part to Samsonov. He surrendered six goals on only 21 shots. Pucks found their way by him in every which way, including an Adam Fantilli shot that beat him cleanly under the glove from 36 feet — and tied the score at five.

The number of goals against Samsonov has allowed in his last four starts: four, six, five, six.

Samsonov has allowed 52 goals in 15 starts this season, almost 3.5 per game. He’s given up goals on shots that aren’t even scoring chances, goals on shots he absolutely needs to stop.

Which means the Leafs need to score a ton — five, six, seven goals — to even have a chance to win when he’s in the net.

Were Joseph Woll not out with a high-ankle sprain, Samsonov almost certainly wouldn’t be playing at all right now.

The Leafs would presumably be rolling with three goalies, with Woll and Martin Jones carrying the load.

As it is, with Woll out for a while still, the Leafs are limited in what they can do. The current third goalie behind Jones and Samsonov is 22-year-old Dennis Hildeby, a rookie in the AHL. Which explains why Samsonov has continued to play.

The Leafs obviously don’t want to throw Hildeby into the mix if they don’t have to. But with the way Samsonov is playing right now, it’s gotten to the point that they simply have to go that route anyway.

Hildeby doesn’t have to play a lot. Jones will start Saturday at home against the Hurricanes. After that, the Leafs travel to California, starting with a back-to-back against the L.A. Kings and Anaheim Ducks. Hildeby can start the second night in Anaheim, opposite one of the league’s lower-scoring teams, and the Leafs can go from there.

GM Brad Treliving can more seriously explore the trade and free-agent markets and try to come up with a Band-Aid alternative until Woll is ready to return. The front office probably has no choice now but to explore something better than a Band-Aid after that, someone who can conceivably share or even take over the net if necessary.

Jones, at 33, is a stretch for that kind of duty.

The Leafs targeted him to be their No. 3, not their No. 2. Woll played very well before his injury but remains inexperienced at the NHL level. He’s also struggled to stay healthy.

Could someone like Jaroslav Halak, a free agent, be an option in the short term?

“I’m sure Tree is going to consider everything,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters in Columbus after the loss to the Blue Jackets.

As for Samsonov, the Leafs can only assign him to the Marlies on a conditioning stint with his consent. Maybe he’ll accept it if asked. He knows it’s going badly. If not, the Leafs can simply place him on waivers. With a cap hit of $3.55 million, and the worst numbers of any regular-playing goalie in the league right now, there’s a good chance he clears.

Maybe there, away from the spotlight and pressure, he can begin to rebuild his game.

But this — this can’t continue.

(Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig / USA Today)