After we argued that Joseph Woll has earned the fitting to compete for the primary goaltending place with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a number of readers responded that we had been delusional, loopy, and had no clue in regards to the sport. We had been advised Woll is a horrible goalie and never ok to be within the NHL.
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Two of the factors introduced up had been his lack of expertise and harm historical past. We acknowledge each of these factors. However we additionally word the stellar numbers that Woll put up when he performed.
Right here’s a glance.
Woll’s Common Season Numbers
| OT/SS Losses | Begins | Wins | Losses | OT/SS Lossed | Win % | Save % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 34 | 21 | 13 | 1 | 0.618% | 0.912% | 2.76 |
Woll’s 0.618% successful share interprets to a 101-point season, sometimes sufficient to safe a playoff spot. The Maple Leafs completed third within the Atlantic Division, fifth within the Japanese Convention, and tenth within the NHL with 102 factors in 2023-24.
In response to QuantHockey, if we examine Woll’s numbers to different goalies this season, Woll’s .912% save share would have tied him with the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin. His 2.76 goals-against common ranks proper between Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars (2.72) and former Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom (2.78). That’s some fairly stable firm.
Listed below are Woll’s playoff numbers during the last two seasons.
| Video games Performed | Begins | Wins | Losses | OT/SS Losses | Win % | Save % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | NA | 0.667% | 0.933% | 1.78 |
For the previous two seasons, Woll has had a successful file within the postseason. Previously eight seasons, no different Maple Leafs goaltender has had a successful file within the playoffs. His save share is .21% increased, and his goals-against common drops to 1.79 GAA.
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Within the 2024 Playoffs, Woll entered the Maple Leafs’ first-round collection towards the Boston Bruins along with his crew down three video games to 1. He performed 140 minutes over two video games and allowed simply two objectives. He stopped 54 of the 56 pictures for a .964% save share and a measly 0.86 goals-against Common. Woll reportedly suffered a again harm late in Recreation 6 and couldn’t begin Recreation 7. The Maple Leafs misplaced sport Recreation 7 2-1 in time beyond regulation with Ilya Samsonov in aim.
What to Make of Woll’s Harm Historical past
As famous, the 2 factors working towards Woll are his lack of expertise and harm historical past. He has solely performed in 43 NHL video games over the previous three seasons. In March 2021, he suffered a shoulder harm that stored him off the ice for over seven months. He returned to play on Nov. 20 however suffered an ankle harm on Dec. 7, 2023, and didn’t play once more till Feb. 21, 2024.
He sustained that again harm to finish his 2024 Playoff run. There aren’t any reviews of how critical that harm was or how a lot time he’ll miss. In response to CapFriendly, Woll suffered two different minor accidents previously three years; one stored him out for 2 weeks, and the opposite price him per week.
Maple Leafs Normal Supervisor Brad Treliving addressed Woll’s harm issues on the finish of the season. He acknowledged that Woll’s frequent accidents are a big concern that must be completely investigated. He additionally instructed that it may be a matter of dangerous luck or underlying points along with his coaching or off-ice routine that have to be addressed.
Treliving prefaced these statements with, “I’ve acquired religion in Joe.”
That imprecise assertion might imply something. It’s onerous to think about that Treliving hasn’t preferred what he has seen from Woll. In spite of everything, Woll stole the starter’s job twice this previous season: as soon as simply earlier than his ankle harm within the common season and once more within the playoffs.
Woll Stays the Staff’s Finest Option to Compete for the Beginning Job
Woll has no less than earned the fitting to compete for the starter’s job subsequent season. We’re not saying he ought to be topped the starter, however he ought to be in the course of the motion. The stable numbers he has put up in each the common season and the postseason have positioned him within the image and the battle.
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There’s one last item to think about. Until the crew plans to maneuver one of many core 4 forwards, incomes $45.7 million subsequent season, they may once more wrestle to fill their roster and stay beneath the $88 million cap. We imagine the wisest selection is to save lots of wage cap area by signing a reliable goalie to both complement Woll as a 1A and 1B or doubtlessly combat for the primary spot.
It’s extra logical to spend fewer {dollars} on a tandem than massive bucks on a longtime primary who bumps Woll to the background. The saved cap area would go a good distance towards filling different wanted roster spots, comparable to defence. The reality is that we don’t know what the Maple Leafs’ plans are. We’ll all have to remain tuned, particularly because the offseason motion ramps up subsequent week with the draft and the start of free company.
[Note: I want to thank long-time Maple Leafs fan Stan Smith for collaborating with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook profile can be found here.]
