Netminder Joseph Woll is back in Toronto and his return has only added another layer to a turbulent goalie situation for the Maple Leafs. It took yet another turn late on Tuesday when insider Kevin Weekes stated that the Maple Leafs were planning on carrying three netminders for the rest of the season, which is sure to bring its load of controversy in Toronto.
“It’ll be interesting to see to see how they divy up the starts.”
It hasn’t been easy in between the pipes for the Maple Leafs this season. The struggles of Ilya Samsonov were heavily commented in media, and when veteran goalie Martin Jones took over and did a stellar job for the club, who couldn’t turn to Woll as he was sidelined with injury, no one really knew what to anticipate for Toronto with the trade deadline looming. Then, Samsonov returned with a renewed confidence and has now won six consecutive games, his longest such stretch as a Leaf.
Going into Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, it was Jones who took a step back and was the back up to Samsonov. However, head coach Sheldon Keefe told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox how he believes his 3-goalie carousel, seeing “tremendous value” in keeping the veteran netminder around. In a brutal 6-2 loss to Vegas, Samsonov was beaten six times on 24 shots.
While some fans wonder what will come on this packed crease in Toronto, this may be what the Maple Leafs need to motivate their goalies. Samsonov, Woll and Jones might get an extra boost for the internal competition and we could see great performances by all three heading into the postseason.
The Leafs will however to keep all three goaltenders sharp and not let fans and media add fuel to what could out to be some controversial fire in net in Toronto.
Let’s see what we get out of them and if that 3-goalie approach sticks in the last weeks of the campaign.
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