Quality goaltending is the scarcest resource in the NHL. Finding a reliable starting goaltender is arguably the most important task for any general managing, finding two is a luxury, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were thriving from their calculated bet on small-sample excellence. Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll exceeded all expectations to begin the season, as Stolarz morphed into a legitimate Vezina Trophy candidate, leading the NHL in save percentage, while Woll wasn’t far behind, and both goaltenders were among the top 15 league-wide in conventional and underlying metrics.
And with a more localized focus, Stolarz and Woll’s excellence were paramount to the Leafs’ identity shift from a high-octane offence that patched over passable defence and goaltending, to a defensively sound team receiving excellent goaltending, while failing to generate any secondary scoring or 5-on-5 offence. Now that Stolarz is day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered during Thursday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, Woll is now the Maple Leafs’ co-MVP, a designation he shares with Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, as Toronto is operating without any margin for error, while its volcanic offence remains dormant.
Prior to Saturday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto was tied for 23rd with the Ottawa Senators and St. Louis Blues with 53 goals at 5-on-5 through 29 games. For a team that has been often billed as the sum of Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares’ offensive powers, this is a far cry from what we’ve come to expect over the past decade. There has been a foundational tactical shift under head coach Craig Berube’s supervision, which emphasizes defensive responsibility, a ‘north-south’ approach to the game, and simplicity over the spectacular. Toronto is firmly in win-now mode, it has no margin for error and with Woll operating as the clear No. 1 goalie in Stolarz’s absence, the importance of his role grows tenfold.
“In the last few years, Boston with (Jeremy) Swayman and (Linus) Ullmark have been really good,” Maple Leafs forward John Tavares said after Thursday’s morning skate. “And just how much more both goalies play. I remember when (Miikka) Kiprusoff would play 60-plus games, almost 70 games, (Henrik) Lundqvist and what not. Now you see how important it is to have two guys, even three guys over my time here, having a definite position. It’s great how they’re feeding off one another and what they’re providing for us. It goes a long way in our success.”
Woll is ready for the task ahead. It feels a bit unfair to blame a player for suffering injuries, but one can only imagine how far the Maple Leafs could’ve gone if he didn’t get hurt in the final seconds of a sensational performance against the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of last year’s first-round series. It’s been a recurring theme in his overall narrative as an NHL goaltender, as he missed the opening two weeks of this year’s campaign with another ailment. Woll started his campaign in late October and has hit the ground running, as his 5.5 goals saved above expected are the 12th-best total in the league for any goalie with 10 or more starts via MoneyPuck. Stolarz’s 9.3 goals saved above expected rank 6th, for what it’s worth. He’s extremely well-liked in the room, he carries himself with innate confidence and it’s important to remember that Woll was slated to become Toronto’s true No. 1 before Stolarz burst out of the gate with the best goaltending performance we’ve seen from any Leafs goalie in recent memory. And now his role on the team is elevated, because of his stellar start to the year, and out of circumstance.
It’s not just on the goalies, to be clear: Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev have formed one of the NHL’s best defensive partnerships, offering the team a true shutdown pair, while Morgan Rielly’s workload, at least in theory, can be alleviated. Marner has been one of the NHL’s best players this year, providing the team with some much-needed scoring and defensive excellence, while Matthews, who missed nearly a month due to injury, can look like the best player in the world on any given evening and appears ready for a true explosion. It’s just that the Maple Leafs may have been sunk by Matthews’ injury, or McCabe’s five-game absence, or the cumulative effective of missing seven roster regulars at any given point, if it were not for Stolarz and Woll. It’s more than fair to state that Toronto’s Big Three now consists of Marner, Matthews and Woll — with due apologies to Nylander — until Stolarz returns.
Toronto will look to get Woll some help, and it remains to be seen whether Dennis Hildeby can provide the team with some effective spot duty as the clear No. 3. The tandem has now been cast away due to injury and now it’s Woll’s turn to keep a Cup contender afloat, as the Maple Leafs look to regain its dynamic offence in a new system.
