Ilya Samsonov has struggled this season and Joseph Woll is out with an injury.
Ilya Samsonov has struggled this season and Joseph Woll is out with an injury.
With Ilya Samsonov struggling with each appearance he has made in goal and Joseph Woll unavailable with a high-ankle injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been exploring every option available to them in the net.
And that doesn't excuse calling up prospect goaltender Dennis Hildeby.
On the latest 'Saturday Headlines' segment on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that the Maple Leafs have considered calling up the 22-year-old Hildeby for a game as the club embarks on a three-game road trip to California.
"One of the things they (the Maple Leafs) have considered is the potential of bringing up Dennis Hildeby from the AHL to playing one game," Friedman said.
The 22-year-old Swedish goaltender is in his first season playing professional hockey in North America. He has a 7-5-3 record with a .919 save percentage in his first season with the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate.
Ilya Samsonov has struggled this season since starting 2023-24 as the club's presumptive No. 1 goaltender. That's been magnified since Joseph Woll was injured on Dec. 7 with a high-ankle injury. He has yet to hit the ice since his injury and isn't expected to return to the lineup for at least another month.
Martin Jones, who started this season as the club's third goaltender, has filled in well in Woll's absence and Samsonov's struggles, Signed to a one-year, $875,000 contract in August, Jones has a 4-3-0 record with a .915 save percentage. But with games on back-to-back nights, it is Toronto's preference to split goaltending duties and Samsonov has not performed well in those instances, most recently allowing six goals on 21 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29.
Following that game, Maple Leafs Sheldon Keefe was pressed about his goaltending situation.
"You've got to think about them and put them in positions to succeed and not derail their development that is going well," Keefe said of other goalie options. "At the same time, it's the NHL. We need saves and we need points and we need wins.
"I'm sure Tree (Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving) is going to consider everything."
According to Friedman, the Leafs have begun that process but other NHL clubs aren't seeing Toronto's urgency or asset depth to remedy the situation.
"Other teams don’t think the Leafs have a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for it," Friedman said. "They believe what Toronto would like to do is hold on until Joseph Woll, who they believe will be their No. 1 guy eventually, can get back and be healthy.
Until then, the Leafs have to do something in those back-to-back situations. According to THN colleague Nick Barden, the Toronto Marlies have called up Luke Cavallin just days after the goaltender was previously up to make his Marlies debut on Dec. 26.
The Maple Leafs visit the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, one day after the Maple Leafs visit the Los Angeles Kings.
According to multiple reports, Samsonov was placed on waivers on Sunday paying the way for a change in goal.
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