NHL analyst Jeremy Franks of Editor in Leaf on FanSided gave a surprising answer regarding the most important player for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs have been active in free agency, bolstering their defense and adding Anthony Stolarz to form a tandem with Joseph Woll. Although they didn’t make any moves to the forward group, the Maple Leafs still have Auston Matthews, one of the best players in the NHL.
However, Franks doesn’t believe Matthews is the most important player for the Maple Leafs. Instead, he thinks it is Woll who will determine how well Toronto performs in the 2024-25 season and playoffs.
“Joseph Woll is this season’s most important Toronto Maple Leafs player. Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares will score goals. Marner will get around a hundred points. Those players are proven performers. They won’t drastically influence the Leafs’ regular season standing. Their moment of judgment will start next spring,” Franks wrote in his article.
“Woll will have the greatest influence on the team’s success. Despite his limited experience, the Leafs recognize his potential and ability. They showed their faith in him by signing him to a 3-year extension. His past two playoff appearances showed promise. In this year’s first round, he singlehandedly elevated the play of his teammates and confidently led the Leafs to victories in Games 5 and 6 against the Boston Bruins. During those games, the Maple Leafs had the better goalie, a rarity in their recent playoff history,” Franks added.
Woll was the reason Toronto was even able to force a Game 7 before he was injured at the end of Game 6. He posted a 0.86 goals-against average and a.964 save percentage during the playoffs.
Franks makes a valid point when he says that Woll was the greatest player on the ice for Toronto during the playoffs. If he can maintain that level of play throughout the season, Woll will be the most valuable player for the Maple Leafs.
Analyst Wonders if Woll Can Stay Healthy
The one knock on Woll throughout his college and pro career is his injury history.
Woll has never played more than 32 games in a season since turning pro, and the most games he played in one year, including playoffs in the NHL, is 28, which is about a third of a season.
Despite all that, the 26-year-old American is projected to be Toronto’s starting goalie, and the hope is he can start 40-50 games this season. If he does that, Franks thinks the Maple Leafs could contend for the best record in the Eastern Conference, though he has concerns about Woll’s ability to stay healthy.
“Woll playing 45-50 games during the season and maintaining his health could see the Leafs challenge the top teams in the Eastern Conference. It’s a big step, but Treliving and the team recognize his importance. It’s a lot to ask of a young player finding his way, but Joseph Woll is the Toronto Maple Leafs’ most important player to the team’s success,” Franks added.
Last season, Woll was 12-11-1 with a 2.94 GAA and a .907 SV%.
Maple Leafs GM Focused on Figuring Out Woll’s Injury Problems
After Toronto was eliminated from the playoffs, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving emphasized that the organization would investigate Woll’s injury history.
Woll wasn’t available for the pivotal Game 7 due to an injury, and Treliving acknowledged that this history is a concern and something they need to thoroughly examine.
“As far as our goaltending, I’ve got faith in Joe. Now, like everybody else, there are questions. The biggest question with Joe is he’s gotten injured a lot. We have to dig into that. Sometimes that happens, sometimes bad luck happens. Is there a training issue that we have to deal with? Do we need to change something in his off-ice routine? All those things are what we have to dig into,” Treliving said to the media on May 10.
Despite his injury history, Toronto gave Woll a three-year, $10.98 million extension.