As for Woll, he’s produced a 15-15-7 record this season through 38 appearances, including a 3.29 goals against average, and .901 save percentage. At 27 years old, and a $3.6 million cap hit the next two seasons, it makes a lot of sense for the Leafs to hold onto Woll. Even though, it’s very likely teams would offer the Maple Leafs more in a trade than if Stolarz was included.
Woll doesn’t have any trade protection on his contract until July, 2027, so if the new general manager comes in and gets blown away by a trade offer, he’ll need to consider it. The Maple Leafs have giant gaps in their lineup. Auston Matthews needs a right winger, the third line needs a new shut-down centre, and Toronto’s blueline needs to be completely reshaped with defencemen who can move the puck. There’s plenty of holes to fill, and the incoming GM will have to strongly consider moving on from his goaltending depth in order to help upgrade this roster. Even if it means Woll has to be the one to go.
There’s certainly a world where teams come calling for Dennis Hildeby instead of either Woll and Stolarz, and the Maple Leafs would be wise to listen. Hildeby, 24, leads Toronto’s goaltending group with a .910 save percentage, which is quite impressive considering how bad the Maple Leafs’ defensive structure has been this season. Hildeby has a ton of potential, he’s under contract for $841,667 for two more seasons, and will be a pending restricted free agent heading into the 2028-29 season.
Without a doubt Hildeby is one of the Leafs best trade assets, but this shouldn’t be a case of a new GM coming in and having his mind already made up on which goaltender should be shipped out of town. Instead, they need to come in, and see where other teams interest lie, and try to maximize their return to address an area of concern in the Maple Leafs lineup. There’s surely a risk involved as Hildeby has a ton of potential, and it would be crushing for Leafs Nation to see him get shipped out of town, flourish, and have the player coming back in the deal not pan out as hoped. It’s not like the Leafs have a strong history of winning goaltending trades.
Depending on how long Stolarz is out, it’s certainly going to impact trade discussions. The good thing is the Maple Leafs have three other goaltenders who are on other team’s radars, so if the new GM is going to add significant talent for either the top six, or top-two defence pairings, it’s quite likely we see one of Hildeby, Woll, or Akhtyamov included in the trade package.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t turn out to be another rendition of the Tuukka Rask trade.
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