Forget about who fills out the top-six or what the future of Nick Robertson holds, the Toronto Maple Leafs suddenly have a new problem on their hands. The club announced on Tuesday that goaltender Joseph Woll will be stepping away from the team indefinitely to tend to a personal matter.
We are not here to speculate on what is keeping Woll away – private family matters should remain so. Nevertheless, it creates a fairly large training-camp story that will test the organization’s goaltending depth. Anthony Stolarz will be the clear number one for as long as Woll is away, but it remains to be seen how much of a workload can be hoisted upon a netminder whose 34 games last season marked a career-high. Furthermore, Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov represent less-than-ideal secondary options for a club that let Matt Murray depart for the Seattle Kraken in the offseason.
With little in the way of internal options to fill the crease in Woll’s absence, the Maple Leafs may be forced to look outside the organization for goaltending support if they feel that this won’t be a short-term matter. Holding $1.9 million in cap space, plus potentially the $3.67 million owed to Woll, money isn’t an issue. If the front office does decide that outside help is necessary, the question becomes who that might be.
James Reimer
Could it be ‘Reim Time’ in Toronto once again? James Reimer, the popular former Maple Leafs netminder, remains without an NHL team after not being re-signed by the Buffalo Sabres after last season. It has been nine years and a whopping seven NHL stops since he last suited up for the organization, but fans haven’t forgotten his role in backstopping the 2012-13 club to a surprise playoff appearance while smiling every step along the way (“Reimer smiling and on a roll again as the Maple Leafs’ top goaltender” The Globe & Mail, Nov. 16, 2015).
That, however, was a long time ago. Reimer is now 37 years old and coming off an up-and-down 2024-25 season split between the Anaheim Ducks and Sabres, posting a 10-10-2 record with a 3.04 goals against average (GAA) and a .896 save percentage (SV%) over 24 games. That said, he isn’t so far removed from posting a 19-17-10 record with a 2.90 GAA and a .911 SV% across 48 games in the 2021-22 season. Maybe he’s got some game left after all.
If the Maple Leafs are interested in free agent goalies with a history with the franchise apart from Reimer, Ilya Samsonov also remains on the market. However, his tenure with the club did not end particularly well, so they may not be too keen on bringing him back so quickly.
Carter Hart
Having been one of five defendants acquitted in the high-profile sexual assault case involving members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team, Carter Hart is now looking to resume his hockey career at a time when the Maple Leafs may be in need of goaltending help. In a situation as sensitive as this, however, it isn’t so simple.
For one thing, the Maple Leafs’ front office would need to be thorough in determining whether Hart’s character fits within the fabric of the franchise (while also anticipating potential blowback). Moreover, the former Philadelphia Flyer remains ineligible to play in the NHL until Dec. 1, at which point Woll will hopefully have returned. Toronto has already been linked to another acquitted defendant Dillon Dube, so they may be open to bringing members of the quintet into the fold. Hart, however, still doesn’t seem like a logical fit.
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Waiver Wire Candidates
Depending on how long Woll remains away, panic could ultimately set in amongst Leafs Nation. And yet, it would be beneficial for the front office to show patience – even in the event of the lengthy absence from their most-used goaltender of 2024-25. As training camp wears on, clubs will be trimming down their rosters and are likely to carry only two goalies come the start of the regular season.
(Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
For the Maple Leafs, the potential for a slew of netminders being passed through waivers signals opportunity. Depending on how goaltending battles across the league play out, Toronto could have a chance to add Anaheim’s Ville Husso, the Buffalo Sabres’ Alexandar Georgiev, or the Montreal Canadiens’ Kaapo Kahkonen, to name just three goalies likely to feel their club’s crease crunch. The catch, of course, is that these cuts could come down to the final days of the preseason and make things awfully tight ahead of the Oct. 8 home opener.
“Indefinite” sounds scary and will typically inspire people to anticipate the worst. Yet, it’s entirely possible that Woll will return to the team sooner rather than later and the Maple Leafs will have their tandem ready for opening night. Even if that does turn out to be the case, however, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for Toronto to have some additional security in net beyond Hildeby and Akhtyamov. After all, the club used four goaltenders last season and both Stolarz and Woll have sustained their share of injuries over their careers.
