All three depth goaltenders in the organization — Hildeby, Murray, and Akhtyamov — have had strong starts to the year.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a fortune of depth in the goaltending position.
After Anthony Stolarz went down with an injury last week — which we now know will be an extended absence from the lineup — Dennis Hildeby was called up from the Toronto Marlies.
Even though Hildeby admitted he wasn't having the best start to the season, he was the right goaltender to bring up from the AHL. Matt Murray had suffered an injury a few days prior, plus, Artur Akhtyamov — who's been strong to begin the year — is still too fresh to be called up.
(Akhtyamov is arguably the best rookie goaltender in the AHL, sporting eight wins and a .911 save percentage through his first 11 games.)
Hildeby came in on the second half of a back-to-back, and after a rocky start, played well against the Buffalo Sabres. He won his second game this season after stopping 27 of 30 shots.
"I think there were a few things I could have done better, obviously, but it turned out great in the end," Hildeby said after his win and a mere minutes after attempting a goalie goal against Buffalo. "I think I had a lot of help there, honestly, with the goals scored by the forwards."
With Stolarz out for four to six weeks, Toronto may test their depth in goal. Hildeby is waivers-exempt, meaning he can go up and down between the Marlies without needing waivers.
It would allow the Maple Leafs to see Murray at the NHL level, something no one has witnessed since Toronto's 5-2 loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Apr. 4, 2023. (He played three games with the Marlies last season after recovering from bilateral hip surgery in Sept. 2023.)
"I've got lots of confidence in our group. Joe has played extremely well. This isn't something new for us of dealing with some injuries, that's why we've got depth at all the positions," Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said on Tuesday.
"Joe, I think, has been tremendous. Joe and Anthony as a pair have been tremendous for us. But we've got Dennis, we got Matt, and Double-A (Artur Akhtyamov) down there. We feel that we've got some depth at the position and this is why you have it."
Treliving added that Murray will be in the net for the Marlies on Wednesday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Through seven games this season, the 30-year-old has three wins and a .919 save percentage.
Murray came in for relief on Saturday for Akhtyamov and stopped all 13 shots he faced from the Bakersfield Condors, earning him his first win since Oct. 19 against the Rochester Americans.
"He was dealing with a little bit of an injury. Touch wood," Treliving said of Murray on Tuesday. "We anticipate that he's going to be in the net tomorrow (for the Marlies), in Wilkes-Barre. And yeah, go from there."
The Maple Leafs have four games left before the holiday break, including a back-to-back against the Sabres and New York Islanders this weekend. Toronto has another back-to-back in the last week of December too.
"We're going to need both of them," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said.
Toronto hasn't had this much goaltending depth in a long time. They have two young goalies, and Murray, who's a two-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Maple Leafs will be in good hands with whatever goaltender they call upon until Stolarz returns in four to six weeks.
"When I refer to the depth, it's not just one guy. We've got three guys that have been playing well [with the Marlies]," Treliving said. "Dennis, obviously, had a tremendous year there last year, played well in his time up here. That's why we have Matt too, right? That's why we brought Matt there."
