On Friday morning, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed 37-year-old goaltender James Reimer to a PTO. The purpose of this addition was to provide more experience to the team’s goaltending depth, considering Joseph Woll has left the team to attend to a personal family matter, and there is no timetable for his return.

With Reimer potentially coming in to be Anthony Stolarz’s backup until Woll returns, what does this mean for Dennis Hildeby’s role with the Maple Leafs?

Hildeby, 24, was projected to be Toronto’s third-string goaltender going into the 2025-26 campaign. However, the addition of Reimer throws a wrench into the original plan. 

While Woll remains absent, Hildeby will still be the Leafs’ third goalie, but that could all change whenever Woll returns. At the very least, Reimer's arrival is another obstacle in Hildeby’s journey to be a full-time NHL netminder.

Hildeby has played plenty of AHL games, coming off two straight campaigns with the Toronto Marlies. And with Reimer, Woll and Stolarz likely ahead of him on the NHL goaltending depth chart, Hildeby might have to prepare for another year in the minors.

Maple Leafs' Goaltending Depth Must Hold The Fort During Woll's Absence The Toronto Maple Leafs made a surprise announcement Tuesday morning – goaltender Joseph Woll was <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/joseph-woll-takes-leave-of-absence-from-maple-leafs-for-personal-family-matter">taking an immediate leave of absence</a> from the team to attend to a family matter. But while the hockey world wishes for the best for Woll, the business of hockey continues. And the <a href="http://thn.com/toronto">Maple Leafs</a> are fortunate that they have solid depth in net to hold the fort until Woll is ready to return.

The Swedish goaltender signed a three-year extension with the Maple Leafs this past off-season. The contract acts as a two-way contract in the first two years of the deal. In the final year, he is paid $900,000 in a one-way situation.

This deal gives GM Brad Treliving and the Leafs some flexibility with the salary cap, and they could likely be taking advantage of that situation. Additionally, Hildeby would get to see a boatload of games as the No. 1 goalie with the Marlies, which can’t hurt his development.

He’s been solid between the pipes in the minors. In 2023-24, he posted a .913 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average. In the following year, he recorded a .908 SP and 2.55 GAA, giving him a total record between those two seasons of 37-20-11.

Last season was the first time that Hildeby saw NHL action, starting in six games. Those outings could’ve gone better for the young goaltender, but he recorded three wins and two games with an SP higher than .910 percent.

Maple Leafs management may believe that Hildeby should gain just a little more experience in the American League before being fully lenient on him to be the team’s backup, if one of Stolarz or Woll goes down.

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