Joseph Woll has suited up in the blue and white in just 39 NHL games over the past three seasons due to his inability to stay healthy.
Joseph Woll has suited up in the blue and white in just 39 NHL games over the past three seasons due to his inability to stay healthy.
The Toronto Maple Leafs fell short of their goal for yet another season, losing in the first round for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The defeat came in Game 7; the Maple Leafs’ kryptonite.
Despite digging themselves out of a 3-1 deficit to force the win-or-go-home Game 7, the Leafs would be without the goaltender that got them there, Joseph Woll – who suffered an injury in the final second of Game 6. The injury required Ilya Samsonov, the Leafs’ Game 1-4 starter to retake the crease, ultimately playing a part in the team’s 2-1 overtime loss.
“Joe Woll suffered an SI joint sprain, a sprained back at the completion of game six, which made him unavailable for game seven,” General Manager Brad Treliving told reporters on Friday.
Woll went 2-0 with a .86 goals against average and a .964 save percentage in the playoffs before his injury took place. Injuries have plagued the young goaltender out of Boston College, playing in just 39 NHL games over the past three seasons due to his unhealthy track record. Drafted by the Leafs in the third round of the 2016 draft, the same year the team was awarded the No. 1 pick, Woll didn’t turn pro with Toronto until 2019. In ‘22, ‘23, and ‘24, Woll has suffered numerous injuries, most notably to his shoulder, ankle, and back.
With a proven history, dependability is at the forefront of the Leafs’ goaltending situation going forward.
“I've got faith in Joe,” Treliving stated. “The biggest question with Joe is he's gotten injured a lot. We have to dig into that.”
“Sometimes that happens. Sometimes bad luck happens. Is there a training issue that we have to deal with? Do we need to change something in his off-ice routine? All those things are what we have to dig into.”
Woll is under contract with the Leafs through the 2024-25 season with a cap hit of $766,667, before he becomes a restricted free agent (RFA) in 2025-26. When looking down the Leafs’ goaltending depth chart, both Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, with Treliving mentioning the importance of having a strong goalie tandem to be paired with Woll.
“I believe in Joe as a goaltender. We have to support Joe. Ilya’s contract is up, but we certainly have to try to put ourselves in a position where we don’t have the second-best goaltender in each of these series,” Treliving said.
If Woll is the main guy for the foreseeable future, the Leafs have to find a system that sees Woll in the net for the majority of the season – and healthy.
In terms of Samsonov, he expressed his interest to remain in Toronto at the team’s end-of-season media availability, stating, “I love this city. I love everybody on this team. But I never know. If we get some more chances, come to this locker room, and just put on this jersey, I will be happy.”
Samsonov signed with the Leafs in the 2022 offseason as the team looked to restructure their goaltending tandem after the departure of Jack Campbell. Since then, Samsonov signed another one-year deal last season with the team, making him an unrestricted free agent again this summer. For the Russian goaltender, his objectives in free agency are clear; he wants stability with a long-term deal.
“It's probably the biggest part. The last couple of years, seriously, the last three years, I'm just working with one deal contract. It's not too easy. It's not too easy for me,” said Samsonov.
“I think I want to get some more stability. Maybe this will be nice if we get a couple of years or three years contract.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxGdb3cdeWE[/embed]
Whether it be through a free agency signing or via trade, Brad Treliving and the Leafs have some difficult decisions to make this summer in terms of goaltending – while at the same time, addressing a solution to a healthy Joseph Woll.
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