Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll week to week with high ankle sprain: What happens next for Toronto?

April 13, 2024

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Joseph Woll is week to week with a high ankle sprain, the team announced Saturday.

Woll, 25, exited Thursday’s game against the Ottawa Senators and didn’t return. He went to grab a fairly routine save with his glove, stopping a shot from Senators forward Drake Batherson, but collapsed awkwardly on his lower body as he did. Woll immediately hit the ice in pain and was helped to the locker room roughly halfway through the third period.

On Saturday, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said that Woll “missed his post” on the play where he was injured, leading to the high ankle sprain.

“I have no doubt in my mind he’ll handle this extremely well,” Keefe said.

In 2023-24, Woll played 15 games and has an 8-5-1 record. His 2.80 goals-against average (20th) and .916 save percentage (13th) are both ranked in the top 20 among NHL goalies.

Ilya Samsonov, who started the season as the Leafs’ No. 1 goalie, has a 4-1-3 record in 2023-24. He’s posted a 3.58 GAA and .878 SV% through 10 starts. Samsonov will start for the Leafs against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

Woll previously suffered an ankle injury in 2022. Entering Saturday’s game against the Predators, the Leafs are 13-6-4, sitting fourth in the Atlantic Division.

Significance of losing Woll

Losing Woll for a few weeks is certainly significant but judging by his reaction to the injury, it was worth wondering if the injury was a tear. So while it’s a loss for the Leafs, perhaps it could have been worse.

Woll was having a remarkable full rookie season, posting a .916 save percentage that was among the league’s best. It was his composure while logging heavy minutes in overtime that continually stuck out. — Joshua Kloke, Maple Leafs beat writer

The attention shifts to Samsonov

Woll’s injury now means the original starter on the season, Samsonov, will regain control of the net. He’s had an up-and-down season and has been open with his mental struggles earlier in the season. The Leafs will need him to find the kind of composure Woll consistently showed, and find it fast. The talent and athleticism in Samsonov is there, but the consistency has not been. That the Leafs have had multiple injuries and do not have their first-choice blue line in front of Samsonov will only create more cause for concern.

But Samsonov showed what he was capable of last season, posting a .919 SV%. All eyes will be on him during a busy finish to the month for the Leafs. — Kloke

Required reading

(Photo: Marc DesRosiers / USA Today)

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