The Toronto Maple Leafs are no stranger to goaltending issues, whether it be Frederik Andersen’s inability to win in the playoffs, Jack Campbell’s inconsistency, or Matt Murray’s inability to stay healthy. Less than halfway through the 2023-24 season, the Leafs have one goaltender who was injured just when he appeared to be taking over as their primary starter and another who has played so badly that he appears psychologically broken.
Joseph Woll started the year splitting duties with Ilya Samsonov but became the de facto #1 when his counterpart struggled to start the year and could not string together quality starts. The former Capitals first-rounder was pulled after allowing seven goals on 16 shots in two starts against Tampa Bay. The 25-year-old Woll made five consecutive starts and was spectacular in Ottawa on December 7, keeping the Leafs in the lead almost single-handedly, but then suffered a lower-body injury in the third period.
Woll’s high-ankle sprain and is out week-to-week. The onus swung back on Samsonov to find the form that he displayed last season, but after an 18-save shutout against Nashville, the 26-year-old has dropped three straight: two overtime losses to the NY Islanders and Columbus and a 9-3 drubbing in Buffalo on Thursday, in which he was pulled after allowing five goals on 19 shots.
The dilemma for Leafs GM Brad Treliving is that Samsonov’s play is costing Toronto valuable points in the standings. Woll will likely not return until late January or after the All-Star break, and veteran Martin Jones (who has won three straight) is a stopgap at best.
Toronto has no realistic options in the American Hockey League (22-year-old Dennis Hildeby is having an excellent year with the AHL Marlies but has only 14 games of AHL experience) and very little cap room to make a move. There may be serious consideration to sending Samsonov down to the AHL to give him some confidence and clear just over $1 million on the cap if Treliving can find a cheap available goalie, but nothing can be done until after the NHL Christmas trade freeze.
At this point, the Leafs outwardly are saying the right things about playing better in front of Samsonov to lighten the burden on him and that they still believe in him, but in reality, they have to be looking around the league to see if they can acquire a replacement for someone suffering from a crisis of confidence.
