Berube reveals plan for Toronto Maple Leafs goalies this season
With the season just around the corner, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has certainly had some time to think about what his team will look like this upcoming year.
Heading into his second campaign with the Leafs, there are many questions to be asked about how exactly he’ll set up his lineup once the games begin to count for real next month.
Berube was a guest on Wednesday on the 100% Hockey podcast with John Shannon and Daren Millard, and spoke about a variety of topics around the team.
One of the more intriguing answers Berube gave was about his goaltending tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll, and how he plans to schedule them out this year over the course of 82 games.
“I don’t think it changes from last year. I think that we got a great tandem here. I think you’ve got to use both guys, especially in today’s game with the schedule the way it is,” Berube said.
Last season, Woll made 41 starts, while Stolarz made 32. But by the time the playoffs came around, Stolarz made the first seven starts before Woll was thrust into the spotlight following a high-profile head injury for Stolarz in Game 1 of the team’s second-round series against the Florida Panthers.
While Stolarz is the more veteran of the two goaltenders, neither actually has all that much NHL experience when compared to some of their peers. The 27-year-old Woll has 78 career regular-season appearances, compared to 142 for Stolarz.
Though there’s not a ton of substance in his answer, it’s intriguing that Berube opted not to name a clear starter ahead of their regular season opener on Oct. 8.
“Both goalies are going to play. It’ll play itself out. It’ll play itself out throughout the season. But I see both goalies getting significant starts throughout the year,” Berube added.
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