After beginning the 2024-25 campaign on injured reserve (IR), Toronto Maple Leafs starting goaltender Joseph Woll is set to return to the team. To make room for this, fellow netminder Dennis Hildeby will return to the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Toronto Marlies.
The @MapleLeafs have activated G Joseph Woll from injured reserve.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) October 24, 2024
G Dennis Hildeby has been loaned to the @TorontoMarlies.
Woll’s return is a welcomed sight for a team that has shown flashes of their typical offensive dominance this season. He missed quite a bit of time in 2023-24, as well, but he had a .907 save percentage (SV%), 2.94 goals-against average (GAA), and 6.19 goals saved above expected (GSAx) in 25 appearances.
This is already indicative of a promising netminder, but the 26-year-old went a step further in the postseason with a .964 SV%, 0.86 GAA, and 4.77 GSAx. Had he started more than two games, it’s not an unrealistic expectation that Toronto would have moved onto the second round instead of losing a heartbreaking Game 7 in overtime to the Boston Bruins.
In Woll’s absence, free-agent acquisition Anthony Stolarz has played rock solid between the pipes. His .938 SV% and 1.83 GAA have helped to offset the rather poor numbers from Hildeby in a small two-game sample (.869 SV%, 4.03 GAA). Getting Woll back can take the Maple Leafs’ goaltending to the next level, potentially giving them one of the best back-stopping duos in the NHL. It’s a bold claim to make, but both have had stints of elite play.
Related: Maple Leafs Finally Have Solid Goaltending Depth in Their Organization
Head coach Craig Berube isn’t one to waste any time, as he’s starting Woll at home versus the St. Louis Blues tonight (Oct. 24). The Blues are the team Berube coached to a Stanley Cup in 2019 but was fired from last season.
