Maple Leafs Hit with Setback as Joseph Woll Lands on Injured Reserve
Bad news coming out of Leafs Nation today, as the team has just announced that goaltender Joseph Woll will be placed on injured reserve due to an injury.
Goaltending has proven to be an early-season challenge for the Toronto Maple Leafs as Joseph Woll works his way back from a lower-body injury. Woll, tabbed to be between the pipes for the Leafs on opening night of the 2024-25 season, was scratched from a tilt against the Montreal Canadiens due to tightness in his lower body. While an injury such as this has been labeled minor, the timing of the injury is a bit of a concern, especially as this is a team that would like to settle in on a goaltending rotation early in the season. Woll has been through injuries before and his status begs the question: How serious is this latest setback? It seems like the level of panic has mounted a bit, as it was announced the team did indeed place him on the injured reserve list.
With Joseph Woll on the sidelines for the moment, Anthony Stolarz has been thrust into game action sooner than expected. He had initially been penciled in to start the following night against the New Jersey Devils, but instead, he will be thrown into action in the Montreal game. The 30-year-old Stolarz has served mostly as a backup throughout his NHL career and has never appeared in more than 30 games in one season. But this unscheduled opportunity could provide him with the platform he needs. If Woll's injury is more severe than initially believed, Stolarz could see much more playing time than he anticipated.
To add depth, the Maple Leafs recalled Dennis Hildeby from the AHL's Toronto Marlies. Last season, Hildeby was 2.41 with a .913 save % in 41 games for the Marlies in 2023-24. For now, Hildeby will be expected to serve as a backup to Anthony Stolarz only, but his promotion to the main team showed he was something more than just a reaction to current circumstances, with an emphasis on how they have to be ready for anything. If Woll remains out, the 22-year-old Hildeby might face an NHL debut sooner than expected, an important test for any young goaltender.
Joseph Woll's injury, currently labeled as lower-body tightness, could affect the Leafs' goaltending rotation beyond the Montreal game. He will now need to miss a minimum of three games given his placement on the injured reserve list today. Should Woll have to miss any more time, look for Stolarz to continue filling in, and Hildeby possibly stepping up into an increased role. In what has been an effort thus far from this team to find some consistency in net, the potential prolonged absence of Woll would be a challenge, so early on in the season.
The Leafs will be carefully monitoring Joseph Woll's recovery, hopeful this lower-body injury is minor and that he does not have to miss much time. The IR placement could simply be a technicality to make room for the arrival of Dennis Hildeby, however Woll will be out for the next three games at least. That Anthony Stolarz gets an opportunity to prove himself, that Hildeby is there for depth, all give options. It puts a point, too, on the depth of the goaltending position. That may be a minor blip, but it can also be the start of something bigger, so the Leafs are surely anxious to have Woll back in the fold as soon as possible and settle things down in the crease.
