Maple Leafs goalie duo receives shockingly poor ranking ahead of 2024-25 season
Photo credit: NHL.com
The Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltending duo of Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz was given a shocking ranking in recent article from The Athletic.
For better or worse, the Maple Leafs will head into next season with Stolarz and Woll as their tandem with a hopefully healthy Matt Murray waiting in the wings to provide relief if needed.
The Leafs are betting on the potential that Woll has shown in short stints during his time with the Leafs and that Stolarz will be able to provide enough stability and veteran experience to keep Woll fresh and healthy and challenge him for starts to keep some healthy competition going to help motivate them both.
Woll is entering the final year of a 3-year extension that will see him earn $766K before his 3-year extension kicks in for the 2025-26 season. Stolarz, fresh off of a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panther will be with the Leafs for at least the next two seasons, earning $2.5M per season.
Woll has just 36 games of regular season NHL experience under his belt thanks to a number of injuries, and Stolarz has 109 regular season games of NHL experience. It is a very inexperienced duo and it is that inexperience that hurt the tandem's ranking in The Athletic's latest piece ranking team goaltending.
At a consensus between Sean McIndoe, Scott Wheeler and Jesse Granger, the Leafs ranking in the bottom third of the league, 25th overall to be exact, for a few reasons.
"Considering the promising rookie season for Joseph Woll and the impressive numbers Anthony Stolarz has put up as a backup, there's a clear path for the Maple Leafs to rise up this ranking in a hurry," wrote Granger who has their current situation ranked at 21. "Neither has proven he can be a true No. 1 starter in the NHL, so for now the Leafs sit firmly behind the teams with one."
Their future, while fans and the organization are high on Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov, is ranked as 23rd.
"Dennis Hildeby's development in two seasons in the SHL and AHL since the Leafs selected him in 2022 has been really positive and he's now solidly their No. 4 goalie behind Woll, Stolarz and Matt Murray," noted Wheeler. "Both of their signed Russians have shown some promise. I'm much higher on Artur Akhtyamov, who is coming to North America this season, than Vyacheslav Peksa, who was a rookie in North America last season. Akhtyamov is a name Leafs fans should get familiar with. (Their third Russian goalie prospect, Timofei Obvintsev, is a long way away.)"
While the Leafs' inexperience throughout the organization is something that currently hinders their ranking, at least they aren't spending much for that inexperience.
"The Leafs continue to try to go cheap on goaltending, which at least means they're not tied into any anchor contracts. They've gambled on Woll's extension, giving him a three-year deal with a $3.66 million hit that kicks in next year. That's a classic risk that could pay off, with this coming season telling that tale. For now, Woll is dirt cheap for one more year, and Stolarz was reasonable for a UFA signing," commented McIndoe.
With the Leafs extremely top-heavy in terms of their "Core Four" taking up so much of the cap, the Leafs have been unable to really consider a true top goaltender (although there were rumours they made an offer for Jacob Markstrom this summer), which has forced them to bargain hunt on potential and reclamation projects. Of course, these rankings can change drastically depending on the play of everyone, but if last season is any indication, the Leafs do have some very solid home-grown talent on the way for a long-term fix.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 23 | 501 ANSWERS Maple Leafs goalie duo receives shockingly poor ranking ahead of 2024-25 season Where would you rank the Leafs' goaltending coming into this season? | ||
| Top 5 | 49 | 9.8 % |
| Top 10 | 170 | 33.9 % |
| Top 22 | 210 | 41.9 % |
| Bottom 10 | 72 | 14.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
TRENDING NOW
