Leafs confident in goaltending duo ahead of new season

The Maple Leafs practiced at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday before flying to Montreal.

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The Atlantic Division features some of the best goalies in hockey including Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy, Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, Ottawa's Linus Ullmark and Boston's Jeremy Swayman. Those names were listed off to Brad Treliving on Tuesday. 

"Okay, I'll leave now," the Leafs general manager said with a smile as he pretended to walk away from a group of reporters.

Vasilevskiy, Bobrovsky and Ullmark have all won the Vezina Trophy while Swayman just signed a $66-million contract after backstopping the Bruins past the Leafs in last year's playoffs.

Toronto, meanwhile, does not have a proven No. 1 goalie. Joseph Woll started a career high 23 games last season with the Leafs, which was his first full year in the NHL. Anthony Stolarz started a career high 24 games with the Florida Panthers last season and made one relief appearance during their Stanley Cup run.

"I'm confident that our goaltenders are going to give us good goaltending," Treliving stressed. "They may not have the name recognition at this point, but I think they're both real good."

Woll, who left the ice first at Tuesday's practice, appears set to get the opening-night start on Wednesday.

"Can't really get much better than playing Montreal in the Bell Centre," the 26-year-old said with a big smile. "It's a fresh start and clean slate so I'm excited to get going."

Woll has never played a game in Montreal, although he is familiar with the atmosphere. Woll was the back-up for Team USA when they won the gold medal over Canada in a shootout at the 2017 World Juniors.

"Some cool memories," said Woll, who grew up idolizing Montreal's Carey Price, "so it's exciting to get this experience."

Although head coach Craig Berube wasn't willing to confirm his starter during his media session.

"Did I give it to somebody?" he shot back when your humble correspondent asked about Woll starting. "I never mentioned nothing."

So, will it be Woll?

"We'll see tomorrow," Berube said. "I'm not jumping to conclusions or anything. We'll see tomorrow. That's tomorrow. Today's today."

Woll posted an .884 save percentage in two pre-season appearances. Stolarz registered a sparkling .964 save percentage in three appearances, including a shutout in his final exhibition outing.

While Berube didn't reveal the plan, the coach did acknowledge the Leafs have a schedule in place for their goalies.

"It is always mapped out, but subject to change," he said. "Things happen."

The Leafs will start the season with 11 games over 23 days in October. 

"It is a feel thing," Berube said. "You have to go off of workload, back-to-back-games, and so on. Some scenarios come up, but if you're winning, there is a good chance you'll stay in."

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Woll took over the No. 1 job for the Leafs last season after Ilya Samsonov got off to a poor start, but a high ankle sprain in December slowed his momentum and kept him out until late February. By that time Samsonov was back in form and getting most of the starts. Woll eventually reclaimed the net in the playoff series against the Bruins but, again, an injury forced him to the sidelines ahead of Game 7.

Woll focused on body stability in the off-season in an attempt to prevent future injuries and prepare for a heavier workload. 

"He's really fit," said Treliving. "We looked at some different things in terms of his mechanics and all those types of things and core. But he's always been dialled in with that. So, yeah, he's put in all the work. We're hopeful he can stay healthy. Stuff happens, but he's looked real good."

There was an injury scare at Tuesday's practice when a William Nylander shot rang off Woll's mask. Woll laughed it off.

"Maybe I'll bug him for a dinner," he said with a grin. "It's all good. Unfortunately it's what you sign up for."

Berube was asked a couple questions about Woll's injury-plagued past.

"I am not going to focus on that," he said. "I am going to focus on the future."

Woll has only started 34 NHL games in the regular season, but he has a .933 save percentage in seven playoff appearances. He's 3-1 in games in which the Leafs faced elimination.

"He has come in and played pretty well in big games for the Leafs," Berube noted.

The Leafs have a lot of belief in the Missouri native and rewarded him in the summer with a three-year contract extension, which doesn’t start until the 2025-26 season. 

"Definitely feel more comfortable coming in than last year," said Woll, who finished last year with a .907 save percentage. "To have a full year under your belt and that experience gives you the knowledge that you belong and you can do it and I'm excited to take that step."

Woll considers Bobrovsky, who is one inch shorter at 6-foot-2, to be among his current NHL role models. Stolarz has already noticed one similarity between his old tandem-mate and his new one.

"The biggest thing is probably work ethic," Stolarz observed. "He kind of does the same thing Bob does with the skating and that edge work. He's always in the gym and Bobby was the same way. He was always in there doing his lifts even after pre-game skate when he was starting that night. Bobby was always one of the first guys there, last one to leave, and I see a lot of similarities between him and Woller."

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What allowed Stolarz to hit the ground running with his new team?

"Just hard work in the summer and training," said Stolarz, who inked a two-year pact with the Leafs in July. "I didn't really take any time off when I got back so I was continuously sharp."

Stolarz did not have a heavy workload last season, but he still posted a very impressive .925 save percentage before soaking up the Stanley Cup run.

"Stolarz has won a Cup and been around," Berube said. "He was the back-up, but he has been in the league for a while and has pretty good experience in that role."

At 6-foot-6, Stolarz is three inches taller than Woll and his size has made a big impression in Toronto.

"He definitely takes up a lot of the net," said centre Auston Matthews. "It's pretty noticeable coming down and shooting on him. He's pretty good at reading the play, I find. When you think you have the opening he's kind of baiting you to shoot it there. I think he's a really smart goalie."

"I remember the first time I saw him in London," said winger Mitch Marner, who played with Stolarz in the Ontario Hockey League. "I was with my dad and we were walking out. We walked by him and we both looked up and said, 'Holy s--t that is a behemoth of a man.' Now you're happy you can shoot on him in practice not in games."

Size isn't the only reason Stolarz stands out on the ice. Woll goes with mostly white pads while Stolarz likes more colour.

"I just like the way it feels," he explained. "I don't like the puck marks being able to be shown and it's just a little different. You just feel a little different. You feel a little swaggy-er out there. As a kid, you're on the goalie pad websites making the mock-ups and no one went with the whole whites. You kind of wanted some colours so it's just the childhood me going back and doing that."

Stolarz is from New Jersey, which is where the Leafs will play on Thursday night.

"It's always exciting to go back home," the 30-year-old said. "I always try and put out my best effort there."

Stolarz is 1-1-1 in four appearances in the Garden State. He expects to have 50 friends and family in the crowd at the Prudential Center where he once skated in a Mites showcase during the intermission of a Devils game.

Of course, Stolarz looked up to Devils legend Martin Brodeur.

"When I was a little kid I would skate out into the corners and go play the puck," Stolarz recalled with a smile. "He was the reasoning behind that."

Stolarz still enjoys playing the puck and is grateful to have generated some instant chemistry with the Leafs defence core.

"It's a new group and just being able to talk to them, they were great with me playing the puck," he said. "The way they made my job a lot easier was really nice and it allowed me to settle in and find my game."

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The Leafs placed defenceman Jani Hakanpää on long term injured reserve on Monday.

"Touch wood, there's been no setbacks," said Treliving. "He's been practicing, but it hasn't been full, full, full contact. We'll hopefully have a game plan here in the next couple of weeks."

It's possible that Hakanpää, who has been sidelined by a knee injury since March, gets into some games in the American Hockey League on a conditioning stint.

"We'll have a better read probably in the next couple of weeks," Treliving said.

The Leafs appeared set to sign the 32-year-old Finn to a two-year contract in July when free agency opened, but no deal got registered, which led to questions about his health. When a contract finally got done in September, it ended up being a one-year deal.

"I think he's going to have an impact," Treliving stressed on Tuesday.

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The Leafs sent top prospect Easton Cowan back to the London Knights of the OHL on Monday. Marner, who led the Knights to a Memorial Cup title in 2016, wanted to say goodbye, but couldn't find Cowan before the 19-year-old left.

He plans to give Cowan a call.

"My message is going to be, 'Go and have fun. Do your thing. Be the leader that you can be and keep trying to achieve great things in London.'"

Cowan was named the OHL's most outstanding player last year before winning the OHL's playoff MVP award. His season ended in heartbreak, though, when the Knights fell to the host Saginaw Spirit in the Memorial Cup final.

"I was talking to him a little bit about falling a little short and how disappointed he was and stuff like that," Marner said. "Another great opportunity to go back there and try to do it again. You can only get better and learn more things, especially under the Hunters."

Mark Hunter is the GM in London while Dale Hunter is the head coach. 

"You can always get better and learn more things under those two," Marner said. "I'm excited to watch him, excited to see the great things he does this year, and excited to see him grow up and be the leader that he can be."

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Lines at Tuesday's practice:

Knies - Matthews - Marner

Domi - Tavares - Nylander

Pacioretty - Holmberg - Robertson

Lorentz - Kampf - Reaves

McMann, Dewar

Rielly - Tanev

Ekman-Larsson - McCabe

Benoit - Timmins

Liljegren - Myers

Hakanpää

Woll

Stolarz

Power play units at Tuesday's practice:

Rielly, Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares

Ekman-Larsson, Robertson, Domi, Pacioretty, Knies