Dennis Hildeby makes Leafs history before ever playing his first game
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby has yet to play in his first NHL game but has already made Leafs history as the first goaltender to wear #41.
With a team that has as storied of history as the Toronto Maple Leafs, pretty much every single number has been worn by a Maple Leaf. From 1-99, only a few numbers have never been worn by a Maple Leaf: 66, 68, 69, 70, 76, 79, 86, 87, and 95.
While goaltender Dennis Hildeby will not be taking any of these numbers, Hildeby will be taking the number 41 which has been worn by only 8 other Toronto Maple Leafs. However, none of those players were goaltenders which means Hildeby is officially the first goaltender in Toronto Maple Leafs history to wear the number 41.
The other 8 players to wear #41 are Paul Gagné, Eric Lacroix, Shayne Toporowski, Matt Stajan, Jason Allison, Nikolai Kulemin, Nikita Soshnikov, and most recently, Dmytro Timashov. Kulemin wore the number the longest wearing it from 2009-2014.
We will now await Hildeby's first NHL game but given how Ilya Samsonov is trying to get back to the NHL and Joseph Woll is still out with an injury, it will almost certainly happen sooner rather than later.
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Scout's Analysis: What Maple Leafs have in goalie Dennis Hildeby
| POLL | ||
Will Dennis Hildeby play the rest of the year in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 265 | 37.2 % |
| No | 448 | 62.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
