The Toronto Maple Leafs have assigned goaltender Dennis Hildeby to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), the team announced Wednesday morning.
Hildeby, 24, was recalled from the Marlies on an emergency basis on Monday morning after goaltender Anthony Stolarz was forced to leave warmups after taking a William Nylander shot up high in warmups. Stolarz went to the hospital to have his throat examined but returned to practice on Monday wearing a neck guard and wound up making his next start. With Stolarz and Joseph Woll both healthy, Hildeby will return to the AHL and continue to split the load with the recently extended Artur Akhtyamov.
Hildeby, ironically, has the best overall numbers of any Leafs goalie this season. Despite a not-so flattering record of 5-6-4, through 19 games he has a save percentage (SV%) of .912 and a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.84, the former of which is higher than either Stolarz or Woll. In 17 AHL games, he has a record of 7-5-5 with a GAA of 2.54 and a .901 SV%. He recorded his first shutout at the NHL level in December and told reporters that he was living a childhood dream.
“At the end of the day, it’s what I’ve been dreaming of since I started playing hockey,” Hildeby said after shutting out the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on December 8. “So, you’ve just got to remind yourself of that and have a lot of fun and just compete.”
The Maple Leafs have ten games remaining this season and will likely have a decision to make regarding their goaltending this summer. Between Hildeby proving that he has what it takes to be an NHL goalie this season and Akhtyamov’s recent extension, it’s possible the Maple Leafs could explore moving on from one of their starting goaltenders. Before any of that, though, they have to get through these final ten games with some sort of pride despite the lost season.
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