The Toronto Maple Leafs recently opened training camp for the 2025-26 season. While the mood in Toronto has been “unmistakably light,” a more serious tone took over today. It has been announced that goaltender Joseph Woll will be taking a personal leave of absence from the team, according to Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
The team released a statement stating, “The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that goaltender Joseph Woll has taken a leave of absence from the team to attend to a personal family matter. No additional details will be provided at this time, and we ask that his privacy be respected.”
Woll was expected to once again split time with Anthony Stolarz in goal for the Leafs this upcoming season. He had been battling an illness early on in training camp, but there is no indication whether the illness is related to his leave from the team. Further, general manager Brad Treliving said there is no timetable for when the netminder will return to the team. While not commenting on the nature of the personal issue, he did note that it was not substance abuse-related.
The impact of Joseph Woll not being available
Woll played in 42 games with the Maple Leafs in 2024-25, going 27-15-1 with a 2.73 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. While seen as the second option behind Stolarz, he took the majority of the starts last season due to a mid-season injury to Stolarz. He also started games in the playoffs after another injury to Stolarz.
He started six games in the playoffs, all in the second round against the Florida Panthers. That included a game six shutout for the Maple Leafs. In that game, the netminder stopped all 22 shots he faced.
If the 27-year-old is not available to start the season, Artur Akhtyamov or Dennis Hildeby will step in. Both are currently projected to be with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Hildeby has made six NHL starts, all coming last season. He went 3-3 with a 3.33 goals against average and a .878 save percentage. Akhtyamov has yet to play in the NHL. He appeared in 26 games for the Marlies last year, going 11-8-7 with a 2.81 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
Losing Woll hurts the team due to a lack of experience behind him. Still, the biggest concern is the team seeing the netminder through this situation.
