Joseph Woll gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a lot of hope when he took over the net while his team was down 3-1 in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins last spring.
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But a back injury suffered on the very last play of Game 6 forced Woll to be unavailable for a seventh and deciding game.
“It was obviously not a great experience,” Woll said following his first practice of training camp for this season. “But as much as we can talk about that, I’d honestly prefer to talk about now and put game seven in the past.”
Ilya Samsonov, now with the Vegas Golden Knights, ended up starting Game 7 and Toronto was eliminated from the postseason after a 2-1 loss. But Woll has every reason to look forward to the future.
Despite being limited to just 36 NHL games spread over the last three seasons, the Leafs saw enough in the goaltender to award him a three-year extension worth $11 million, a deal that kicks after this upcoming season.
Related: Why the Maple Leafs Officially Signed Joseph Woll to a Three-Year Extension Worth $3.66 Million Per Season
“It’s pretty awesome to know that they have faith in me and I think that’s something I was really proud of,” Woll said. ” I think that’s something you have to earn from staff and from players and from coaches. But it’s just something you have to continue to earn. So I’m looking forward to this year to continue to earn that faith and that trust. And I’m just going to try to do everything I can to help this team.”
Woll has a long laundry list of injuries since breaking into the NHL. An ankle injury sustained in December of last season forced Woll to miss months. In the fall of 2022, he went through a shoulder injury. But when he has played, Woll has put up numbers. He has a career .912 save percentage in 36 games. He posted a .932 save percentage in four playoff games in 2023 and he was a contributing reason the Leafs forced a Game 7 against the Bruins.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Joseph Woll to ‘Miss Some Time For Sure’ Following Injury in Spectacular Performance Against the Senators
During the Leafs’ season-ending media availability, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving addressed the elephant in the room over Woll.
“I’ve got faith in Joe. The biggest question about Joe is he’s getting injured a lot. We have to dig into that,” Treliving said back in May. “Sometimes that happens, sometimes bad luck happens. Is there a training issue that we have to deal with? We need to change something in his off-ice routine.”
Related: ‘He’s Gotten Injured A Lot, We Have To Dig Into That’: Maple Leafs’ Brad Treliving Prioritizes Goaltending Stability and Investigates Joseph Woll’s Injury Struggles
Woll said he’s been working this summer on stability, as a means to try and stay healthy.
But what if Woll can’t stay healthy? They signed Florida Panthers backup Anthony Stolarz to a two-year deal worth $5 million. The 30-year-old has never played more than 28 games in a single season.
Related: Anthony Stolarz Looks Forward to Battle With Joseph Woll and Matt Murray For Starts in Maple Leafs’ Net
Beyond that, the Leafs have Matt Murray returning after hip surgery. As a potential No. 3 option, the two-time Stanley Cup starting goaltender from 2016 and 2017 may be called upon.
It’s really up to Woll to prove that he can stay healthy.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to come into the year and I’ve tried to make sure this summer being able to prepare my body for a full season and doing as much as I can to help this team,” Woll said.
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