Leafs playing with EBUG again as NHL denies the Leafs the opportunity to recall Joseph Woll on an emergency basis
Coming into tonight's game against the Florida Panthers, the Leafs had just 3 games left on the docket for the regular season. Last game, against Montreal on Saturday night, the Buds found themselves in a position where they were unable to recall Joseph Woll on an emergency basis and were forced to use an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG). Well, the same fate awaited them on Monday in Florida, as the NHL actually declined the Leafs' request to recall Woll on an emergency basis, leading to EBUG Nick Chenard being signed to an amateur tryout to back up Ilya Samsonov.
There was a lot of confusion surrounding why the Leafs couldn't recall Woll on an emergency basis while Murray was hurt and ineligible for LTIR. Even NHL Insiders like Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman couldn't quite put their finger on why the league wasn't allowing it, but after some digging, Friedman was able to provide some clarity.
Per Friedman, the league felt as though the Leafs put themselves in a position to require the use of an emergency recall by electing to sign Matthew Knies to an entry-level deal before the playoffs instead of simply recalling Woll from the AHL.
In the end, it's a bit of a strange situation all around, but one that doesn't really impact the Leafs too much. They've already secured home ice in round 1 against Tampa, so really, it's just about treading water at this point until the playoffs begin. Even if they do end up needing to start an emergency backup against Tampa or New York in their final two games, it's relatively inconsequential.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 10 | 208 ANSWERS Leafs playing with EBUG again as NHL denies the Leafs the opportunity to recall Joseph Woll on an emergency basis Does the NHL have a bais against the Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 120 | 57.7 % |
| No | 24 | 11.5 % |
| Sometimes, I wonder... | 64 | 30.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
