Goaltender Guru Gives Shocking Prediction On Who Will Be The Maple Leafs Number One

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Tom Banks
August 23, 2023 (4:16 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a goalie battle on their hands heading into 2023-24, and with all three options being solid ones, whatever decision they make is going to be a very tough one.

Three talented netminders

On the surface, it appears obvious to some that Ilya Samsonov with his salary of $3.5 million and his role as the starter last season will simply walk into the role, but it's not that simple.

All three, Samsonov, Joseph Woll and Martin Jones would have to clear waivers to land on the AHL's Toronto Marlies, and now, Daily Faceoff have explained just what they believe will happen going forward.

A tricky situation

According to them, Jones was signed purely as insurance, and given the injury history for both Woll and Samsonov, that's going to come in handy, as he will likely start the season being needed at the top level.

After that however, it appears to all involved that Woll has the inside track on being the team's starter after he dominated at the AHL level a season ago and got hot when he finally made his Leafs debut.

From that point forward, Toronto has a battle on its hands. I don't care that Samsonov is making $3.55 million during the 2023-24 season, or that he was the Maple Leafs' defacto No. 1 goaltender for most of the 2022-23 season. Both goalies are going to play. And I think Woll has the inside track to take over the starting job when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

Like it has been mentioned, injuries often play a major role in these types of battles, and everything may sort itself out with form and injuries as the season rolls on, but according to most, it appears Woll is ready to take over and be the teams goaltender for years to come, and that begins in 2023-24.