Is Joseph Woll injured? Leafs bring extra goalie on road trip
The regular season hasn’t even begun yet for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and we might already have our first goalie controversy of the season.
Today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman posted on X, “there is word Toronto is bringing Dennis Hildeby to Montreal tonight,” speculating that something might be up with either Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll.
Meanwhile, Friedman’s colleague Luke Fox suggested there was “concern” about Woll’s health, though didn’t offer specifics.
Wow. Concern over Joseph Woll’s health begins before the season starts. https://t.co/G7aA9Sjooc
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) October 9, 2024
Fox later confirmed Woll’s injury as a lower body ailment, with Stolarz getting the start in goal.
Stolarz starts. Woll has a lower body ailment.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) October 9, 2024
Toronto has three games in four days, starting with an Original Six matchup tonight at the Bell Centre against the Canadiens. They’ll then travel to New Jersey for a game against the Devils on Thursday evening, before hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night for their home opener in a newly-renovated Scotiabank Arena.
While it’s not quite clear what’s up with Toronto’s goalie situation, the team’s management and coaching staff wasn’t showing any signs of concern about it on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving discussed Woll’s past injuries, and described him as “really fit.”
“Guys can get hurt, right? We hopefully spend lots of time working on it, but sometimes luck gets in the way, right? I know he has worked really hard and had a really good summer. He is really fit,” Treliving said.
Though he could win the team’s No. 1 starting job this season, Woll has played just 36 career NHL games since being drafted by the franchise in 2016.
While he didn’t divulge much, new Leafs head coach Craig Berube spoke a bit yesterday about his plan for his goalies this season.
“It is a feel thing. You have to go off of workload, back-to-back games, and so on. Some scenarios come up, but if you’re winning, there is a good chance you’ll stay in,” Berube said.
Puck drop is set for 7 pm ET for tonight’s game, and they visit the Devils tomorrow night at the same time.