Ex-NHL goaltender predicts who the Leafs' starting goalie will be by the end of the year
A few short seasons ago, the Maple Leafs had swung a deal with the Arizona Coyotes to acquire some added goaltending depth by bringing in Thunder Bay, Ontario native Carter Hutton. While Hutton did not play a single game for the Buds, he did play 234 games over a 10-year NHL career, posting a career high .931 SV% over 32 games during the 2017-18 season in St. Louis.
This morning, Hutton was a guest on TSN 1050's First Up with Carlo Colaiacovo and Aaron Korolnek. One of the subjects that came up in discussion towards the end of the conversation was what he felt about the Leafs' current tandem and who he believes will be the starting goaltender by the end of the year. There has been a lot of speculation that this might be the year that Joseph Woll takes a major step forward and emerges as a starting goalie, but Hutton doesn't count himself among those who believe he'll surpass Samsonov this season.
"I still think it's Samsonov. I still think he's ready, with that maturity and [the experience] he had last year. But I don't mind Woll at all. I think his growth curve is going to be so good this year. He's got so many good attributes and, like you see in the new NHL, you get surprised at these young guys at how quick they can adapt now... The sky's the limit for a kid like that." - Hutton on a strong Leafs' goaltending situation coming into this season
There's a lot to like about the Leafs' goaltending tandem this year. Even with Samsonov being 26 years old, there's still a lot of upside there. Ditto for Woll, who had just turned 25 back in July. Neither goalie has endured any true "hard miles" yet, so as long as their health holds up, we could see one of the most dynamic tandems in the NHL manning the crease in Toronto this season.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 13 | 86 ANSWERS Ex-NHL goaltender predicts who the Leafs' starting goalie will be by the end of the year Do you think Joseph Woll is the real deal? | ||
| Yes | 61 | 70.9 % |
| No | 3 | 3.5 % |
| It's hard to say.. his sample size has been small | 22 | 25.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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