Who's the odd man out? Leafs currently carrying three goalies

Currently riding a seven-game winning streak, there’s no team in the NHL hotter right now than the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Going undefeated since February 10, the team’s recent stretch of play has had the fan base wondering exactly how active they’ll be ahead of the March 8 trade deadline.

But while any number of players on the team could be on the move in a trade, there’s a more immediate roster problem at hand: they’re currently carrying three goalies, with no clear answer of what exactly their netminding situation will look like moving forward.

Today, the team announced that Joseph Woll was called up to the 23-man roster, after a brief conditioning stint in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.

Woll, who was injured in early December, has an 8-5-1 record in 15 games with a goals-against average of 2.80 and a save percentage of .916 in the 2023-24 season.

Expected to possibly be the team’s No. 1 goalie throughout the year, it hasn’t quite worked out that way for the 25-year-old with the multi-month injury layoff.

But it isn’t exactly clear what Toronto should do with their other two goalies either. Martin Jones has an 11-7-1 record in 20 games with a goals against average of 2.71 and a save percentage of .907, making his Leafs debut following Woll’s injury.

Meanwhile, Ilya Samsonov has a 14-4-6 record in 26 games with a goals against average of 3.18 and a save percentage of .883, but it’s been a tale of two seasons for the veteran goalie. Since coming back from a two-week hiatus from the team in late December and early January, Samsonov has put up a 9-2-0 record and a save percentage of .911.

Sending either goalie down to the AHL — presumably, the elder Jones — would require them to clear waivers and possibly risk being lost to another team.

For now, Toronto appears set to hold onto all three before making any further decisions. As per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe says the team is “comfortable” carrying three goalies, but will leave the final call to general manager Brad Treliving.

Timothy Liljegren is day to day. Questionable for Tuesday. If he can’t go, Giordano should play.

No plan on when Joseph Woll will start. Keefe says Leafs comfortable carrying three goalies. That’s Treliving’s call.

— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) February 26, 2024

The Leafs return to action on Tuesday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights. Puck drop is set for 7 pm ET.

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