TORONTO — Joseph Woll didn’t practice with the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday.
He was kept off the ice Sunday.
Friday, too.
Sure, the club’s starting goaltender played well and won a hockey game in each of the previous nights. But so did the skaters in front of him.
“I’ve never seen young goalies get days off like this when the team is out there grinding,” Ryan Reaves, tongue in cheek, told reporters following Tuesday’s practice. “That’s the new NHL, I guess.”
Ironically, Toronto’s most heavily padded men are getting the bubble-wrap treatment this season. And the management of Woll’s workload has only grown more meticulous since his counterpart, Anthony Stolarz, got sidelined five-plus weeks ago with a knee injury.
At night they’re launching their bodies in the path of 100-mile-an-hour one-timers. The next morning, they’re Fabergé eggs, carefully handed and kept far away from hard surfaces.
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“They kinda get treated like quarterbacks here,” Mitch Marner said. “Just get a little more rest.... They take care of themselves well.”
Quipped Reaves: “Like Joel Embiid. We’ll call him ‘Joe Embiid’ from now on.”
While a prime Grant Fuhr or Marin Brodeur might roll his eyes at the way some of 2025’s tandem goalies are treated, it’s hard to dispute the results in this town.
Despite stretches of injury to both of the Leafs’ injury-prone netminders and a significant gap in performance and confidence when they’ve needed to lean on Marlies call-ups Matt Murray and Dennis Hildeby, Toronto holds the best team save percentage in the Atlantic Division (.902) and second-best in the conference.
There are no risks or illusions here: From management through to the coaching staff, from the players themselves to the fan base, everyone understands Woll and Stolarz must be a) healthy and b) rested for the Maple Leafs to go on a deep run.
The memory of Woll, so stellar in Games 5 and 6 last spring, being too hurt to participate in a Game 7 he helped force still feels fresh. And there was a worrisome air of déjà vu when Woll suddenly pulled out of October’s opening night start in Montreal due to groin tightness.
So, if keeping Woll available means instructing a natural-born workaholic to take it easy on an off-day, that’s what is going to happen.
“He feels like he’s in a good spot,” assured head coach Craig Berube, who is in constant communication with the club’s sports-science department and goalie coach Curtis Sanford about when and how hard to push Woll.
“We've just got to manage it here and manage the practice with him, too. He’s a hardworking guy, and he puts a lot into his game with preparation and practice and all that. And sometimes you’ve got to pull those guys back a little bit. We need him in the games.
“He works extremely hard, tries on every play. If he was out there (practising) today, he’s going to be competing on every puck. He’s at the level where he’s playing a lot and needs his days.”
While the man Jake Oettinger describes as “the perfect human” is inclined to do everything full-out, Woll sounds accepting of the Embiid program.
He spends these no-ice-for-you days doing some gym work, getting treatment, and working on the mental side of his craft. Over the course of a career speckled with injuries, he has a better handle on listening to what his (abnormally flexible) body needs.
“Throughout my life, I’ve always had a mindset of hard work, and so it’s learning how to manage the load,” Woll said.
“When’s the right time to reel it back and when’s the right time to push it. So, we’ve got a great staff, and I trust them. Just doing the best I can and taking each experience to learn things.”
That learning has helped Woll tread into uncharted territory here.
Monday’s 5-3 victory over the rival Tampa Bay Lightning marked Woll’s 24th start and 25th appearance this season. Both are career highs, and the regular-season runway is still 34 games long.
The rehabbing Stolarz has returned to the ice but has been limited to light solo work away from the main group. Next week, he should get more active in his movements and butterfly work. Then the Leafs will reassess.
Sense is, this could well remain Woll’s net until the league returns from its 4 Nations Face-Off break.
And by piling eight wins in his 10 post-Christmas starts, Woll is taking ownership of his crease.
“Last few games I’ve been watching from the bench, feeling like it was a goal for the other team. Then all of a sudden, he comes flying across the crease and saves it with his shoulder or his elbow. Whatever it is, he’s getting in front of it. Really impressive to watch,” said Bobby McMann, who remembers calling his dad and raving about the poise of this young goalie when he and Woll first met as Marlies.
“He seemed like he was an NHL goalie from the first time I was here. I was like, ‘This guy moves so smooth and moves so well.’ I saw it early. And sometimes it takes that development, more for goalies, to get those games and get that time in to play.”
Woll’s save percentage (.907) mirrors the one through 25 games last season. His rebound control, crease movements, and poise in the room and on the ice make the eye test even better.
“He’s ready for that next shot,” Jake McCabe observes.
“He's ready for that next opportunity. He’s just hungry. He’s always doing the right things in the gym. He’s taking care of himself. I love everything about Woller’s game. Our goaltenders have been carrying us a lot this year."
Later this week, Woll will carry his hot streak into 26th NHL game. That’ll be a new personal best. As will the following start and so on.
How deep can “Joe Embiid” can take his (carefully monitored) run of quality starts?
As far as his body can take him.
At latest check-in?
“Doing great,” Woll said. “Just happy to be playing.”
Reaves calls bad karma on Xhekaj
That Arber Xhekaj engaged in doozy of a heavyweight tilt with Matt Rempe 24 hours after turning down an invitation from Ryan Reaves must’ve added to the Maple Leafs veteran’s frustration.
It’s no secret Reaves has been craving a scrap.
But when the Montreal Canadiens were up 3-0 in the first period Saturday, Xhekaj shooed away a knuckle-ready Reaves and pointed to the scoreboard.
He wasn’t going to engage Reaves in an opportunity to flip momentum.
No matter. The Maple Leafs scored seven unanswered goals, creating their own momentum in a morale-boosting comeback.
“I think when you’re a younger guy and you do that to somebody who’s been in the league for that long, maybe that guy’s not going to give you one when you need one,” Reaves said in Tuesday’s scrum.
“Anytime there’s a fight now, somebody needs some momentum. And if he needed momentum and asked me and I give it to him, then I expect it back. And I would have obliged if he would have done it there. But you want to point at the scoreboard and then get rattled off for seven, then it’s a tough look.”
One-Timers: Ryan Reaves will jump back into the lineup Wednesday because Connor Dewar and Max Pacioretty are both dealing with upper-body injuries…. Pacioretty is three appearances away from unlocking his $313,115 bonus for 35 games played…. As Berube predicted, Pontus Holmberg is fine after crashing hard into the end-boards during Monday’s win. He returned taking reps centring the second line…. John Tavares has yet to skate since suffering a lower-body injury at practice last week.
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