The Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending situation looks good as they prepare to begin the 2024-25 NHL season next Wednesday in Montreal against the Canadiens.
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to have at least four goaltenders in their system who can play in the net for them at the NHL level. Goaltending depth is never a bad thing. All indications point to Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz starting the season as the Leafs top goaltenders, with Woll penciled in for game one on October 9th in Montreal.
If one gets hurt, the Leafs have two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Matt Murray and prospect Dennis Hildeby as their next two in line. Murray is supposedly feeling the best he's felt in years and is healthy. Having him and his pedigree as an option is nice. As for Hildeby, or Hildebeast, as many like to call him, he has looked good in pre-season. He is expected to be the number one starter for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL.
New Leafs head coach Craig Berube appears to have confidence in all four goaltenders after seeing them play in pre-season action. Hopefully, goaltending will not be an issue for him and the Leafs. However, injuries happen, so it's good to know the Leafs have good depth in such an important position.
Toronto Maple Leafs main goaltending duo
Joseph Woll finished the 2023-24 season with a 12-11-1 record, a 2.94 GAA, and a .907 SV%. For his career, Woll is 21-13-1 with one shutout in 36 NHL games.
The question for him to answer now is, can he handle the workload of playing between 40-50 games in a single season? Many believe he can, but if he can't, he will lose the number-one starter job to Anthony Stolarz. However, Stolarz has yet to appear in more than 28 games in a single season.
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Stolarz finished last season with a 16-7-2 record in 27 appearances and had two shutouts. He had a 2.03 GAA and .925 SV% for the Florida Panthers.
The 30-year-old appeared in one game for the Panthers during their Stanley Cup-winning playoff run, and it wasn't a good game for him. He allowed three goals and 19 shots and finished with a 5.17 GAA and a .842 SV%.
In the Leafs first-round series defeat to the Boston Bruins, Woll won two of the three games he appeared in and finished the playoffs with a 2-0-0 record, 0.86 GAA, and a .964SV%. Although neither goaltender has a ton of playoff experience, Woll has the upper hand.