Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube provided an update on how things are going for Joseph Woll since being placed on injured reserve.
Although Berube noted that Woll has not stepped on the ice since getting diagnosed with his ailment, things are progressing in the right direction.
“That’s a good question. He’s getting better,” Berube said Saturday morning. “It’s still day-to-day right now, but, I don’t really have an answer.”
Woll was placed on IR on Wednesday due to lower-body tightness and that resulted in him being unavailable for the first three games of the regular season. This resulted in Dennis Hildeby getting called up while Anthony Stolarz got the start for the regular season opener that was projected to be given to Woll before his injury diagnosis.
Both Stolarz and Hildeby played well in their respective games which should give the Leafs confidence to grant Woll as much time as required to recover from his ailments. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the latest 32 Thoughts The Podcast episode that Toronto will look into adjusting Woll’s workload on non-game days once he is cleared to return.
“In this day and age, I think you’re seeing a lot of more teams starting to say that ‘You can’t do this anymore, that there has to be more rest,’” he said. “For Woll, I think they’re going to say ‘No more practicing as much as you do.’ Each team gets four days off a month, which is CBA-mandated, but I wonder if you’re gonna see it even more. I do believe that that’s one of the things they’re discussing.”
Woll has been dealt with numerous injuries over the past calendar year, including a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for three months and a back injury in the dying seconds of Game 6 against the Bruins. The Leafs have remained committed to him by signing him to a three-year extension in the offseason, but GM Brad Treliving also made a point to mention that they want to alter Woll’s training regimen to ensure he can stay durable.
He performed well when he was healthy, coming off a season where he posted a record of 12-11-1, a .907 save percentage, and a 2.94 GAA. Woll was even better in the playoffs where he recorded two wins along with a .964 SV% and 0.86 GAA before suffering the aforementioned injury.
