1. Can Joseph Woll stay healthy enough to be the NHL’s No. 1 goalie?
The departure of Ilia Samsonov to the Vegas Golden Knights as a free agent means the 26-year-old has a great chance to land the starting job and run with it, although he will be pushed by the free agent acquisition Anthony Stolarzwho supported Sergei Bobrovsky with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers last season.
To take full advantage of that opportunity, Woll will have to resist the injury propensity that has limited him to 36 regular-season appearances in his three-year NHL career, with a 21-13-1 record, a 2.76 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
The last injury came in Game 6 against the Bruins last season, when Woll sprained his back while trying unsuccessfully to stop a shot from the Bruins forward. Morgan Geek in the final seconds. Had he not been injured, he would have been Toronto’s choice to start Game 7, which the Maple Leafs ultimately lost 2-1 in overtime.
General manager Brad Treliving said the team was proactive in addressing Woll’s injury concerns.
“I have confidence in Joe,” Treliving said. “The biggest question with Joe is that he gets injured a lot. We have to dig into that. Sometimes it happens, sometimes bad luck happens. Is there a training issue that we have to deal with?”
“We have to change something in his off-ice routine.”
