Kevin Weekes is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs are close to signing a three-year extension with goaltender Joseph Woll. Woll has one year remaining on his current deal that will pay him $775K, meaning his new deal won’t kick in until the 2025-26 season. The deal is expected to be between $3.5 and $4 million per season.
Woll was set to become a restricted free agent on July 1, 2025.
Woll has proven himself in the NHL with a 22-13-1 record and a .915 save percentage over parts of three seasons with Toronto. While he dealt with some injury issues during the season, he took over the starting job when Ilya Samsonov struggled and played a crucial role for Toronto in this year’s playoffs. Woll’s injury history raises concerns about his durability and GM Brad Treliving did say in his post-season media avail that the team wanted to make sure those injuries weren’t going to be an ongoing issue.
Woll’s skill and talent surpass Samsonov’s, so if Samsonov is valued at $3.55 million, Woll should be worth more. However, while his abilities aren’t in question, his durability is. There isn’t enough evidence yet to confirm he can maintain his health as a reliable starting goaltender. For that reason, some fans in Toronto are questioning this decision.
The Maple Leafs Are Comfortable Banking on Woll
The risk Toronto runs by waiting is that Woll has a breakout season in 2024-25 and his value skyrockets. Should that happen, getting him to sign a $3.5 million extension will be next to impossible. Toronto’s management has clearly decided they’re still interested in him as a starter over the next several seasons, but the salary allows them to go out and acquire a 1B option.
With Ilya Samsonov likely entering free agency, the team is seeking another goaltender to support Woll in case of future injuries. They were rumored to have kicked tires on Jacob Markstrom, who went to the Devils. There was also talk about interest in Linus Ullmark, but reports are that Ullmark might be heading to Ottawa.
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