The Leafs' starting goalie for 2023-24 season may not be as obvious as some would suggest
In 2020-21 the Toronto Maple Leafs had what originally appeared to be a formidable tandem in Frederik Andersen and Jack Campbell. The tandem didn't perform nearly as well as expected, which led to some changes in goal. In 2021-22 they had a tandem in Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek, and in 2022-23 they ran with Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray to start the year. As we head into the 2023-24 season, it seems like it's going to be another year with a different goaltending tandem, but this time around the Leafs' tandem has a good chance of sticking around for more than one season.
The Maple Leafs are tight against the cap as it is and one of their many pending free agents is goaltender, Ilya Samsonov (RFA). The Matt Murray experiment failed, so much so that he wasn't even an option heading into the playoffs when healthy. When Samsonov went down with injury, it was Joseph Woll who was on the bench and the rookie goaltender finished the series over the two-time Cup winner, even when he was finally healthy.
Samsonov finished the regular season going 27-10-5 with a .919 SV% and a 2.33 G.A.A, compared to Murray's 14-8-2 record, 3.01 G.A.A and .903 SV%. Woll only managed 7 games but still finished 6-1-0 with a .932 SV% and a 2.16 G.A.A and when tasked to hop into the playoffs - already down in the series - he posted a .915 SV% and a 2.43 G.A.A including a Game 4 victory to avoid the sweep.
Throw in his AHL stats for the year and that's another sublime record at 16-4-1, a 2.37 G.A.A and a .927 SV% and it seems like Woll is ready for the starting job next season.
The Leafs would like to bring back Samsonov and could pull a 2022-23 again and run with a 1A/1B tandem, but this time, instead of Murray, it's likely they'll wish to do so with Woll over Murray. They will need to shed Murray's $4.687M cap hit next year in order to do so, but with Woll requiring waivers next season, Murray is the natural odd man out. A little different with Mrazek carrying an extra year in term last summer, but the Leafs threw in their 25th overall selection of the draft as well in exchange for the 38th overall selection, which landed near the top of the second round. With one less season, the Leafs might not have to pay such a premium to move Murray.
Murray suffered a concussion at the end of the season that cost him his position on the depth chart. He was cleared for a return but didn't get back onto the ice so if there are lingering effects he could be placed on the LTIR but best case scenario and the better route for both parties would be a trade. His $4.6875 million cap hit is an albatross for the Leafs at the moment especially when you factor in that Woll has 2 years remaining at a cap hit of 766,667$ and Samsonov certainly deserves a raise from his $1.8 million that he signed last summer.
Woll will assume a large part of the load next season, but with the numbers he has posted thus far in his young career, you could certainly make an argument that he deserves to be the starting goalie in Toronto next season. The Stars passed the net over to Jake Oettinger this past season, and he is a similar age to Woll, so why shouldn't the Leafs give the kid a run to see what he can do?
The fact that he's signed for the next 2 seasons on a team-friendly deal certainly helps the Leafs, especially if they don't move one of the Core 4. If Woll does go on a run next season and steal the net from Samsonov, it could open up a lot of options for the Buds.
| POLL | ||
MAI 17 | 297 ANSWERS The Leafs' starting goalie for 2023-24 season may not be as obvious as some would suggest Should Joseph Woll be the starter in Toronto next season? | ||
| Yes | 208 | 70 % |
| No | 89 | 30 % |
| List of polls | ||
