NHL Trades and Rumors
Insider Suggests the Maple Leafs Could Look to Move a Goaltender
The Toronto Maple Leafs could soon have a surplus in goal, so could they look to trade one of them, and if so, who?
It’s safe to say the Toronto Maple Leafs are back. A 7-0-2 heater over their last nine games has them right on the doorstep of a playoff spot, and there’s no reason to believe they’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
Several factors have fueled the turnaround, including improved play and production from Auston Matthews, depth scoring, and a healthier lineup overall. While all of that has been critical, what might be most important is the goaltending they’ve gotten from Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby.
With Anthony Stolarz‘s injury absence now having reached the two-month mark, the Maple Leafs have had to rely on Woll and the rookie Hildeby in a big way, and both have stepped up to the plate and delivered just about every time they’ve been called upon.
As a result, questions have been raised about what they’ll do when Stolarz — who has started skating again — returns to action. It won’t be an easy decision for anyone involved, and according to TSN insider Darren Dreger, this potential surplus in goal could be used as trade bait moving forward.
“We always look at what Toronto doesn’t have, and that’s a bevy of draft or trade capital. They’re not moving Easton Cowan… Well, now they’ve got goaltending. Now you’ve got three NHL-quality goaltenders… Brad Treliving’s not going to be in a rush, I’m not talking about this year. But maybe you do get into a situation, a scenario in the offseason where there’s a piece, a player, a trade that you feel is going to make a difference. Moving forward, it’s going to provide an add maybe on the blue line that is going to make you better. Maybe you do have to consider one of those goalies, maybe you do.”
The 27-year-old Woll has been lights out this season, posting a 10-4-2 record to go with a 2.52 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage, and two shutouts. On the other hand, Hildeby, 24, has been just as good, having gone 4-5-4 with a 2.75 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and one shutout across 16 appearances.
Which Goalie Could Toronto Trade?
When conversations about the Maple Leafs trading a goalie come up, the finger tends to be pointed at Stolarz, and understandably so, given his age, injury history, and the fact that he struggled so much to start this season.
That being said, those concerns likely make him the least valuable on the trade market, which perhaps opens the door for one of Woll or Hildeby to be dangled in hopes of landing, as Dreger mentioned, a serious piece on the blue line or elsewhere.
How the remainder of this season plays will be the ultimate decider in how the crease looks in Toronto next year and beyond, but there’s no doubt that Hildeby’s emergence has been nothing but a positive for the organization in more ways than one.
Next: The Tables Have Turned on the Mitch Marner Toronto-to-Vegas Move
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