The Toronto Maple Leafs and general manager Brad Treliving took a calculated gamble during the offseason by signing goaltender Joseph Woll to a contract extension.
The deal locked up a homegrown talent with great potential for a modest cap hit of $3.67 million. The price was reasonable for someone the Maple Leafs viewed as their starting goaltender. The risk came with Woll's sizeable injury history.
It didn't take long for those injury concerns to manifest. Woll couldn't start the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens due to a last-minute, unexpected lower-body injury. He didn't make it back into the lineup until late October.
Luckily for the Leafs, free agent acquisition Anthony Stolarz picked up the slack and provided the team with outstanding play until being sidelined himself with an injury. Before Stolarz's knee injury, he and Woll were arguably the league's best goaltending tandem.
Maple Leafs Faith in Joseph Woll is Paying Off
Thanks largely to Woll's play, the Maple Leafs have withstood the absence of star center Auston Matthews and stayed atop the Atlantic Division. The puck stopper's latest masterpiece came in a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders.
It was the team's second consecutive victory over the Islanders and Woll was the main reason the Leafs gained four important points in the standings. After a brief decline in his performance in prior losses to the Islanders and Winnipeg Jets, the most recent win was his third consecutive.
Woll's numbers for the season are excellent. He has 12 wins in 18 starts with a 2.39 goals-against-average and .917 save percentage (both rank in the top ten). His adjusted goals-against average ranks 7th. He also has an 8.2 GSAA (goals saved above average). (All Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com).
It's not just the numbers that make Woll's performance special. It's the timing of his saves. In the 3-1 victory over New York on Dec. 31, he stopped Brock Nelson on a shorthanded breakaway with the Leafs nursing a 2-1 third period lead. In the same game, he calmly stymied late-game scoring chances until Toronto sealed the victory with an empty-net goal from John Tavares.
In the second win over the Islanders, Woll made 32 saves, many from high-danger areas until the Maple Leafs found their footing in a low-event game that required patience.
As the Leafs held late leads in both games, one got the impression that Woll would not be beaten. He did the same during last year's first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins in forcing a series-deciding seventh game.
It's why Treliving and Leafs management decided to commit to Woll and invest in his potential. Ideally, Stolarz returns from injury and regains his early-season form and the team continues with its formidable duo in the net. If not, Joseph Woll has proved that the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending is in good hands in their quest for a division title.