The Toronto Maple Leafs had an unexpected change in goaltenders Saturday night in Tampa Bay, with youngster Joseph Woll coming in to replace starter Ilya Samsonov in the first period against the Lightning. Samsonov had allowed three goals on four shots against the Bolts, and at the 13:29 point of the opening frame, Buds coach Sheldon Keefe put the hook into Samsonov, and Woll came in.
From that point, Woll shut the door on the Lightning completely, turning aside 29 shots and allowing the Leafs to make a comeback and eventually win the game by a 4-3 score. Woll’s was the kind of performance that will get him more playing time – and Samsomov’s poor play will have him sitting on Toronto’s bench more than team management anticipated. The Leafs are now 3-2-1 this season, far from the ideal showing fans and media were expecting, and Keefe is going to ride the hot hand in net, so despite Samsonov being paid as the No. 1 option between the pipes, we might see Woll leapfrog over him on the depth chart and earning the starter’s job.
Certainly, we’ve seen the 25-year-old in a very limited sample size thus far in his NHL days. Woll has only 13 regular-season games under his belt, but his individual numbers are strong; for example, he’s got a 2.28 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage. That’s not going to win him the Vezina Trophy as the game’s best netminder, but it’s definitely positive enough for Leafs brass to give him more playing time.
And if Saturday’s performance is any indication, Woll is primed and ready for the challenge. Woll looked confident and competent against the Lightning’s high-octane offensive attack, and his panic threshold was sky-high. It was a notable improvement from Woll’s first game this season – a 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, in which he stopped 27 of 30 shots – and it had to make Keefe happy.
The Leafs are in the midst of a five-game road trip, so Keefe will almost assuredly give Samsonov another chance, but as it stands, Toronto’s next game, against Washington on Tuesday, should feature Woll as the starter. We can see Samsonov starting against Dallas two days later, but Woll could start two consecutive games when the Buds take on Nashville on Saturday and Los Angeles a week from Tuesday.
If Woll continues to play well, he could be the starter for two of every three Leafs games the rest of the way this year. That’s the internal competition between him and Samsonov, and right now, Woll is looking like the better choice in net. There’s probably going to be more roller-coaster action in Toronto’s net, and that includes the possibility veteran Martin Jones will be recalled from the American League’s Toronto Marlies.
Goaltending is a fickle job, and for the most part, it’s difficult to predict success and failure from year to year with any one goalie. That said, we’ve also seen breakout performances from young goalies who quickly establish themselves as first-rate competitors. If the Maple Leafs get that out of Woll, they’ll happily allow Samsonov to move on when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. And although Woll is under contract at a cap hit of just $766,667 for this season and the 2024-25 campaign, continued above-average play will land him a major raise when he becomes a restricted free agent. And the Leafs will happily give him that raise.
With each victory so precious to Toronto, any goalie who reliably gives them a chance to win night in and night out will get opportunities to play regularly. That’s where Woll is right now. He’s got lessons to learn and potholes to power through as a netminder in the best hockey league on the planet, but he’s made an excellent impression early on, and he’s earned the right to be the Leafs’ first option in net. What he does with that opportunity is mostly, if not entirely, up to him. And the Leafs’ season may ride on the adaptation he makes at hockey’s top level.