At one point, Joseph Woll looked like he might be the long-term answer in the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ crease. Now he’s in Philadelphia, trying to find his footing with the Flyers. At the same time, Toronto has gone in a completely different direction, handing Sergei Bobrovsky a three-year, $21 million contract and hoping the veteran can give the Leafs the kind of goaltending they haven’t had consistently enough.
That’s what makes these two stories interesting. Woll is trying to establish himself somewhere new, while Bobrovsky is trying to prove that there’s still plenty left in the tank at 38. For Toronto fans, both are worth watching, although for very different reasons.
Former Maple Leafs Goalie Joseph Woll Gets His Flyers Start
Woll’s first preseason appearance with Philadelphia didn’t exactly produce a headline-making performance. He stopped 16 of 19 shots through two periods in a 5-2 loss to Washington on Monday. The Flyers gave him the first 40 minutes before Carson Bjarnason took over in the third.
But I won’t spend much time worrying about three preseason goals. For fans of the former Maple Leafs goalie, Woll made some good saves, including a strong stop on a shorthanded breakaway. Still, the bigger story is that he’s starting over somewhere else. He was traded to Philadelphia in June after making 39 appearances for Toronto last season. He’s expected to work behind Dan Vladar, although the Flyers could give the two goalies a fairly even workload.
Two former Toronto Maple Leafs: defenseman Brandon Carlo and Joseph Woll
(Marc DesRosiers-IMAGN Images)
That could be a big opportunity for Woll. Toronto questioned his consistency and, perhaps more importantly, his ability to stay healthy. In Philadelphia, he doesn’t have the same constant comparison hanging over him. He gets a chance to establish himself and show what he can do without every bad night turning into another discussion about the Maple Leafs’ goaltending situation.
One preseason game doesn’t tell us much. But I’ll be watching. There is still a lot to like about Woll, and sometimes a change of scenery is exactly what a goalie needs.
Maple Leafs May Be Getting More Than a Goalie From Bobrovsky
The Maple Leafs’ situation is obviously different. Toronto didn’t bring Bobrovsky in to find himself. They brought him in because they expect him to help them win. That’s a big ask for a 38-year-old who has already played 806 regular-season games and 117 playoff games. His .877 save percentage in Florida last season didn’t exactly make the signing feel safer.
Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)
But something else may be happening here that I find almost as interesting. Elliotte Friedman has reported that Bobrovsky has quickly become one of the biggest voices in the Toronto dressing room. He’s apparently not somebody who talks constantly, but when he does speak, teammates listen. For a team that has spent years talking about leadership, accountability, and finding the right mix in the room, that could matter.
Bobrovsky has been through just about everything. He has played in pressure games, struggled, bounced back and, of course, helped Florida win Stanley Cups in 2024 and 2025. If some of that experience rubs off on the Maple Leafs, that’s a pretty nice bonus.
Of course, there’s one rather large catch. Bobrovsky still has to stop the puck.
That’s the part of this signing that will ultimately determine whether Toronto got it right. The Maple Leafs are betting that last season’s .877 was a bad season, not the beginning of the end. That’s certainly possible, particularly with a goalie who has spent the previous two seasons winning championships. But it’s still a gamble.
Two Goalies Worth Watching, One Maple Leafs and One No Longer
And that’s where these two stories come together. Woll is trying to prove that Toronto gave up on him too soon. Bobrovsky is trying to prove that Toronto made the right gamble. Neither story will be settled in September.
For Woll, the question is whether Philadelphia gives him the opportunity to become the goalie many people in Toronto once thought he could be. For Bobrovsky, it’s whether his experience, leadership and championship pedigree come with enough good hockey left in the glove.
Woll represents the question Toronto walked away from; Bobrovsky represents the question Toronto has now chosen to answer. I’ll be watching both. I don’t know about other fans, but once I’ve watched a goalie leave Toronto, I don’t stop wondering how his story is going to end.
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