Over the last few seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have dealt with goaltending issues. This season, their tandem is different than before. For the previous two years, the Leafs had Ilya Samsonov as their number-one goaltender for the most part. It wasn’t the greatest run for the Russian goalie, especially this past season. In fact, it was the worst season of his career. In 40 games played, he finished with a 3.13 GAA and a .890 save percentage. That’s not good enough for a team looking to compete for a Stanley Cup, let alone being the starter for any team. Therefore, general manager Brad Treliving let him go in free agency, and he signed with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Leafs signed goaltender Anthony Stolarz as Samsonov’s replacement, and hopefully, Toronto doesn’t have to worry about goaltending anymore.
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Woll and Stolarz Tandem
Now that Stolarz has been brought in, he’ll be sharing the puck-stopping duties with Joseph Woll. Woll was drafted in 2016 by the Maple Leafs, 62nd overall in the third round. He’s been with the organization ever since and has featured in three different seasons for them. For this upcoming season, he is the projected starting goaltender for the Leafs. His performances last season earned him that role, especially in the playoffs. In the two games he started, he posted a 0.86 GAA and a .964 SV%. He played in Game 5 and 6 of their first round playoff series, and his performances helped the Leafs force a Game 7 despite previously being down 3-1 in the series. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury in the dying seconds of the Game 6 victory, leading the responsibilities to close out the series to Samsonov. Nonetheless, Woll was very impressive in his small stint in the playoffs.
As for Stolarz, he has been a backup goalie for all of his career. However, he’s been getting more ice time lately. For example, last season he got the most starts in his career. It was also the best season of his career in terms of statistics. He won 16 games in 24 starts for the Florida Panthers, and in the process, he put up a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA. In the playoffs, he wasn’t able to start in any games, given Sergei Bobrovsky‘s form over the last two seasons or so. In contrast, his consistency has earned him a new role, and he will get a new opportunity in Toronto.
Who Will be Toronto’s Starting Goalie Next Season?
Given the way things transpired last season with the Leafs and the role he played, it looks like Woll will be the starting goaltender on opening. Even though things can change between now and Oct. 9, that’s what the understanding is. However, just because Stolarz has always had the role of being a backup goalie, it doesn’t mean that’s what he is limited to for his career. Depending on how each netminder plays, that could determine the amount of action they see. Currently, it’s Woll’s net to lose, but maybe down the road, the two American goalies split games. That would leave a tough decision to make come playoff time.
Look at Jack Campbell on the Leafs, for example. For most of his career, he served as a backup. Early in his career, he stood behind Jonathan Quick with the Los Angeles Kings. Eventually, he was traded to Toronto and was a second-string goaltender for them too. He exceeded expectations in that role both for the Kings and Maple Leafs.
During the 2020-21 season with the Leafs, Frederik Andersen was injured, and Campbell was given the starting role, and he never looked back. In 22 regular season starts, he put up a .921 SV%, 2.15 GAA, and an incredible 17-3-2 record. The next season was equally impressive, where he recorded five shutouts and became an NHL all-star for the first time. However, after the all-star break, he had a weird regression, and he lost all confidence. His bad form carried through to the next two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, and he hasn’t been the same since.
Stolarz Closer to Woll Than People Think
The point of that example was to show that Stolarz could have that same kind of success in Toronto. He seems to have the ability, given his statistics from previous years. He also had the mentorship that Campbell had with Quick. Stolarz has played behind Bobrovsky, who has two Vezina Trophies and a Stanley Cup to his name. The 30-year-old also has much more experience than Woll. Stolarz has started in 83 regular season games, doubling the number of starts that Woll has to his name. Stolarz also had a great junior career with the London Knights in the OHL. In two seasons with the Knights, he won an OHL championship and finished with the league’s best save percentage in separate years. Therefore, there’s the possibility that Stolarz could be suited for a starting role if need be.
However, it should be noted that despite being four years younger than Stolarz, Woll has much more playoff experience than him. With training camp coming up fast, Leafs head coach Craig Berube will get a good look at each goaltender. Both goalies know what’s at stake, and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top and earns more games.
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
