Toronto Maple Leafs GM gives context to Woll's leave of absence
The Toronto Maple Leafs could be without goaltender Joseph Woll to begin the 2025-26 season.
The Leafs announced on Tuesday morning that Woll is taking a leave of absence from the team.
“The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that goaltender Joseph Woll has taken a leave of absence to attend to a personal family matter,” the Leafs wrote in a statement. “No additional details will be provided at this time, and we ask that his privacy be respected.”
GM Brad Treliving also didn’t want to get into details of the matter, but, as per the Toronto Sun, did clarify that it has nothing to do with a substance abuse issue.
“For context, it’s not a substance abuse issue,” Treliving said. “It’s a personal, family matter that Joe is going to deal with, and we will go from there.”
Woll, 27, is set to enter his third season with the Leafs. The 6-foot-3 netminder worked in a tandem role with Anthony Stolarz in 2024-25, posting a respectable 2.73 GAA along with a .909 SV% and a 27-14-1 record. He’s logged 78 career games in the NHL to date, managing to put together a record of 48-27-2.
The 2025-26 season will mark the first year of Woll’s three-year contract extension he signed shortly after the 2023-24 campaign. The deal is worth $10.98 million, and will see him carry a cap hit of roughly $3.66 million.
Should Woll be forced to miss any time in the regular season, the Leafs would likely rely heavily on Stolarz. The 31-year-old was incredible when healthy in 2024-25, posting a 2.14 GAA along with a .926 SV% in 34 appearances.
The Leafs’ 2025-26 season is set to kick off on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in a game at Scotiabank Arena versus the Montreal Canadiens. Treliving also mentioned he is unsure if Woll will be back with the team once the regular season gets underway.
Should Woll’s absence continue into the regular season, it’s expected that Dennis Hildeby, who signed a three-year extension earlier this month, will back up Stolarz.