As long as he gets enough work here to continue his development. Interestingly, the Caps have only 12 back-to-backs this season, so the team is going to have to find a lot of other opportunities for him to get in there. Hopefully the goaltending load will be split perhaps about 2 to 1, with Holtby getting, say, 55 starts and Samsonov the other 27.
I fully agree. Let the kid play and give him some opportunities to develop. I'm excited because he's young and has potential. Plus, I honestly think we need someone available to be the new starter because I'm doubtful we'll be able to extend Holtby (because he's going to cost $10 million a year and because honestly I think Backstrom should have priority over Holtby). As such, getting Samsonov ready to roll as an NHL starter this season will be vital.
Plus, the year we won the Cup, Holts had a pretty light load during the season (mostly because he was having a bad season and Grubauer was favored over him). But maybe that extra rest made a difference. So yeah, let's keep Holtby to 50-55 starts and let the kid get the rest.