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Joseph Woll drops major hint on Maple Leafs starting goalie status for season opener against Canadiens
The Toronto Maple Leafs will start off the 2024-25 NHL campaign with the hopes of breaking a 56-year Stanley Cup drought, which stretches all the way back to 1967.
With new captain Auston Matthews at the helm, the Maple Leafs will look to start strong with a win against an Original Six rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
With the two teams set to take on each other at the Bell Centre, the question of who will be the team's starting goaltender remains unanswered.
On Tuesday though, while interacting with the media, goalie Joseph Woll seemingly dropped a major hint on his starting status. According to NHL insider Mark Masters, Woll said that he looks forward to playing in front of the Montreal fans for the first time in his career.
Woll went on to add,
"You can't really get much better than playing Montreal in the Bell Centre. Maybe, playing Montreal at Scotiabank. It's exciting. It's a fresh start and clean slate, and I'm just excited to get going."
Woll has been backed by both fans and analysts to be the team's starter when it comes to protecting the net. Backing up Woll will be Anthony Stolarz who joined the team on a two-year, $5 million deal earlier in July.
Despite winning the Stanley Cup last season with the Florida Panthers, Stolarz is likely to backup for Woll in the early stages of the new season.
Joseph Woll addresses being Maple Leafs' starting goalie for 2024-25 NHL season
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Woll was asked about potentially replicating ex-Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen who at his peak was among the best starting goalies in the NHL. Joseph Woll said:
“That’s a good thing to have as a goal. It’s important to put yourself in that mindset. Act as you are something before you are it. Where that’s important is developing those [starter’s] habits and actions.”
Drafted in 2016, Woll enters his fourth season as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Largely thanks to his .964 SV% in the playoffs last season before a back injury, the goalie bagged a three-year contract extension with the Leafs earlier this year worth an average annual value of $3.66 million.
The Maple Leafs have struggled with goaltending over the past couple of seasons. Now entering a new era under head coach Craig Berube and Matthews, the Maple Leafs will hope to put those struggles behind, given Woll's presence between the pipes.
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