"Only a Leaf would be so stupid": NHL fans accuse Ilya Samsonov of having a burner account after he posts contradictory messages towards Linus Ullmark

Ilya Samsonov may have fallen victim to what happened to NBA superstar Kevin Durant in 2017. It is not uncommon for athletes, or celebrities of any kind, to have burner accounts to surf social media and give takes without it coming from a famous person. Occasionally, they forget to switch accounts, though.

That's what happened to Durant long ago, and it seems to have happened to Samsonov over the NHL offseason or at least this is what the fans believe. The former Toronto Maple Leafs star seems to be criticizing Linus Ullmark, a goalkeeper for the Ottawa Senators.

Samsonov replied to his own Instagram comment, saying that Ullmark should be prepared for their November 21 showdown unless he gets injured again. It was a tense reply, one that many fans didn't think was supposed to come from the official Samsonov account.

"Playing in Toronto got this guy talking to himself," one fan laughed.

"This is so embarrassing lol dude forget to log into his burner account," another said.

"I think he was supposed to comment that on a burner trying to make fun himself, it makes more sense really," another chimed in.

"Samsonov is a b***h and I will repeat this as many times as possible until the message is through," one said.

It's unclear exactly what Samsonov was trying to accomplish here. Some fans pointed out that he might have been pretending to criticize himself from another account, while others believe he was taking aim at Ullmark.

---

Exploring initial jab between Ilya Samsonov and Linus Ullmark

Ilya Samsonov struggled in the last matchup against Linus Ullmark's team, and it prompted Ullmark to comment on the Toronto Maple Leafs' situation in goal, pointing out the perceived difference in quality between Samsonov and Joseph Woll.

Ullmark said of the newest Vegas Golden Knights goalkeeper via Yahoo! Sports:

"I was surprised that they kept Samsonov in for that many games against us in the playoffs. I felt that every time we played the Leafs and he (Joseph Woll) was in net, it felt like it was more of a challenge even though I’m not a player. Just watching him, it looked like he was in so much more control of the situation that was thrown at him."

That prompted the reaction from Samsonov, who began by trolling with a heart on Instagram before delivering a brutal blow.