HockeyFeed

Maple Leafs fans will love Joseph Woll's comments

He's certainly appreciative of his situation.

HockeyFeed

HockeyFeed

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the brink of elimination heading into tonight's Game 4 of their Round 2 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Florida Panthers, having dropped the first three games including Sunday night's heartbreaking overtime setback. 

Early in the 2nd period of Game 3, the Leafs lost goaltender Ilya Samsonov to an upper body injury, and were forced to call upon third stringer Joseph Woll. He'll be getting the start between the pipes tonight as the Leafs begin the monumental and near-impossible task of trying to become the first team since the 2014 Los Angeles Kings to win four straight games after having initially dropped the first three games of a postseason series. 

Right now, Woll is the man in net for the Leafs, and he's appreciative of his current situation - and is aiming to "outperform" his current very team friendly contract of two additional season with an AAV of $766,667. 

"When you signed your contract extension in February 2022, was it a quick process? Were you considering going shorter term and try to prove yourself at the NHL level before committing? Because it's looking like a good deal for the team right now, the way you're playing," asked Sportsnet's Luke Fox. 

"I appreciate that. To be honest, I think it was right after I had gotten injured last year when we were sorting it out. I had hurt my knee a little bit after that, and I wasn't even thinking about the deal because it was still [February] or whatever it was. I got a call from my agent, and he said, 'We were talking about negotiating your next contract.' I hadn't thought about it at all and had no idea what to expect. So, I was very happy with what they'd offered me, and it was a pretty quick process." 

"I think, for me, I really want to be in Toronto. I love playing here. I love the people. I love the city. So, I don't want to be anywhere else. So, for me committing for a longer period of time, I was very excited to. And I think they're very fair in what they offered. I think it was a perfect deal for both of us. I would say the aim is to always try and outperform the contract. If I'm able to do that, that's awesome. So, we'll see what happens."