Maple Leafs’ Goalie Story Isn’t As Simple As It Looks

As Toronto Maple Leafs fans know, the 2025–26 season was less than successful. The Maple Leafs are on the outside looking in at the playoffs while they’re going on right now, which pretty much says it all. Different parts of the team ran into different issues, and different players and groups have to take responsibility in different ways for how things fell apart. In this one, I want to look at the goalies.

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A Deep Dive into the Toronto Crease

How did the goalies actually do? What can we learn just by digging into the numbers? And what do those stats tell us that we didn’t really know back when the season started?

There are a lot of questions here. Some about performance, some about consistency, and some about what next season might even look like in the crease. Because in 2024–25, the goaltending was actually pretty solid. This year? Not so much.

So the real question becomes: is that on the goalies themselves, or is it partly what was happening in front of them? After all, it’s a team game, and nobody plays that position in a vacuum.

Looking at the Maple Leafs Goalie Numbers

In plain talk, it was a messy goalie season — occasional standout performances, a few surprise breakouts, and plenty of nights where the netminders couldn’t bail the team out. The result? More hope than certainty going into the offseason.

The team save % of .889, and a 3.54 GAA says it plainly. The goalies didn’t inspire confidence. Opponents hung a .883 against the Maple Leafs, so the team’s edge was basically paper-thin. On a contender, you want your goalies to be a clear advantage, not a coin flip.

Surprises for the Maple Leafs in the Crease

In just 20 games for Hildeby, yet he managed a .912 SV% and 2.85 GAA — not shabby. He wasn’t the workhorse, but when he played, he gave the Leafs a real chance. Definitely a young arm you notice when things get tight.

Anthony Stolarz was a weird split. In 26 games, he posted a .893 SV% and a 3.28 GAA, with 10 wins. Those wins hide how up-and-down he was. Some nights he stood tall, others he looked shaky and gave up too many easy goals. He was not the reliable veteran backbone you need for heavy minutes.

Joseph Woll carried the workload (39 games) and had his moments, but his .898 SV% and 3.34 GAA were just okay. He had a couple of shutouts and some strong nights, but they couldn’t erase the too-frequent wobble games.

The Best and the Worst of Maple Leafs Goalies

Best rate-wise was Hildeby, with Woll’s hot stretches giving hope. Worst moments came from the depth plug-ins. Cayden Primeau and Artur Akhtyamov looked ugly in a few games (.838 and .864). Those outings killed momentum. But to be fair, Akhtyamov played at a time when the Maple Leafs were on a long losing streak. Still, when Toronto had to lean on fringe goalies, the results dipped.

The tiny save% gap between Toronto and their opponents screams defensive issues. Letting in 295 goals on 2,660 shots means the goalies were usually battling uphill — the defence didn’t do enough to limit high-danger chances. Not all the goalies’ fault, but it mattered.

The Biggest Maple Leafs Takeaway

The biggest takeaway is that this team might not have a blue-chip, steal-you-games starter right now. Hildeby’s emergence is the bright note and maybe the spark for competition; Woll can still be the guy if they iron out the inconsistency.

Stolarz gave wins but not steady trust. Plus, he’s too often injured. The depth call-ups were a problem and underline either a need to tighten the defence in front of them or to upgrade the crease long-term. The bottom line is that, if the Maple Leafs want to be a legit playoff threat, the net needs fewer question marks next season.

Related: Now Is When Nick Robertson Forces the Maple Leafs’ Hand