Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Coming off their first season together as a tandem, Stolarz and Woll were ranked by ‘Bleacher Report‘ as the third best 1-2 punch in the league.
The placement argues that last season was highly impressive for both netminders, with Stolarz having led the league in SV% and Woll having been a solid backup.
It was noted that injuries were a concern, and neither are guaranteed to repeat their surprise performance, but for now have shown enough to have them at #3.
The ranking split some fans, with some arguing for both of them either being too high or too low.
Why the Leafs’ Goalie Duo Ranked So High in the NHL List
Much of the projection for Stolarz and Woll takes into account last season’s performance. Stolarz’s .926SV% led the NHL, although in just 34 games, which was a career high for both.
Woll also appeared in a career-high 42 games with a .909SV%, but struggled in the playoffs to be the starter once Anthony Stolarz was injured and left Woll to play the rest of the series against Florida.
Despite neither having established themselves as a surefire starter, both have shown themselves last season of being capable of being a quality duo, who if healthy could have done a lot more damage.
There’s also a lack of Goalie duos where both netminders are equally dominant, leaving Stolarz as one of the most balanced starter/backup pairs in the league.
The Debate: Do Stolarz and Woll Deserve a Top-Three Spot?
The Leafs have a unique situation in which they have two goalies in which neither are netminders who can give you dominance in a heavy number of games the way an Igor Shesterkin or Connor Hellebuyck can, but both Stolarz and Woll have been impressive in taking turns for Toronto in net.The top two spots, Winnipeg and Dallas, were understandable with two of the top netminders in Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger, with solid backups in Eric Comrie and Casey DeSmith respectively.Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson are fourth, with Vasilevskiy the main goaltender and Johansson, who at times has struggled as a backup, leaving the Lightning more reliant on Vasilevskiy.With Woll, the Leafs know they do have a more reliable backup option, even if he struggled in the playoffs and needs to prove he can step up as a 1B.One surprise is the New Jersey Devils at 7th. Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen were a solid duo for the Devils, and although Markstrom didn’t entirely solve their need for a goaltender as they had hoped, they arguably should be higher.St. Louis with Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer at 8th could end up higher this season. Binnington played his best hockey at the Four Nations, but didn’t replicate that performance with the Blues. Hofer has shown he can become a potential future starter in the long-term.With Sergei Bobrovsky having played a major part in shutting the Leafs from getting out of the second round, it’s a surprise that he and newly acquired backup Daniil Tarasov are only ranked 24th. Yes, Tarasov struggled last season with Columbus, but still has potential to bounce back, and Bobrovsky should have helped position Florida’s new duo higher.
Overall, it’s understandable that Stolarz and Woll for now are at third, but the ranking has a strong chance to fluctuate throughout the year, but Toronto is banking the duo will replicate what went right last season as one of the league’s top duos.
Previously on HockeyPatrol