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The Toronto Maple Leafs are entering the consequential weeks of the offseason when most of the moves are made. In the next three or four weeks, decisions will be made on players on their roster who have expiring contracts, those on other clubs with term left on their deals they would have to trade for, and players who are heading to the open market on July 1.
In taking a look at the Leafs in-house, the only goalie with NHL experience under contract is Joseph Woll, who has played a grand total of 39 games. The 25-year-old has a ton of ability and has shown it in the regular season and the playoffs over the last two seasons, but that has been mitigated by his frequent variety of injuries.
Woll appeared to steal the job away from the struggling Ilya Samsonov in November and early December before suffering a high-ankle sprain that kept him out three months. He was not sharp late in the season after returning, but stepped up in Games 5 and 6 against Boston, before the injury bug struck again at the worst possible time. The Leafs have the benefit of having Woll signed next season at just under the league minimum, but the uncertainty of his health referenced by GM Brad Treliving at the end of the season will be a factor of what the club does over the next few weeks.
Dennis “The Hildebeast” Hildeby is a promising prospect who had an excellent rookie AHL campaign (21-11-7, 2.41 GAA, .913 sv %), but rushing him into an NHL job would be unwise and it appears that the Leafs want him to get a ton of work with the Marlies next season.
By all indications, the Leafs will not be bringing Samsonov back after a roller coaster ride last season. It was laudable that the club stuck by him after his crisis of confidence midway through the year, but the 27-year-old simply cannot be depended on. Even if he were willing to come back at significantly less than his $3.55 million salary, it appears that Toronto will be going in a different direction.
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to know everything about the players being drafted in Vegas later this month
— HockeyProspect.com (@ScoutingService) June 13, 2024
Martin Jones came in as a disaster backup on a one-year deal and disaster did occur. His performance mostly in December and January (11-8-2) saved the Leafs season. According to reports, the 34-year-old wants to re-sign with Toronto and if it is on a one-year deal similar to last season (with a bonus that makes it unlikely that other teams claim him on waivers), it would make sense for Treliving to have a goaltending safety net.
Matt Murray spent all of last season recovering from double hip surgery and played three games with the AHL Marlies at the end of the year. The 30-year-old two-time Cup winner is looking to continue his NHL career, and it is possible that someone will sign him to a one-year prove-it deal, but it is unlikely it will be Toronto.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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