Surprising Last Minute Lineup Change for Maple Leafs Ahead of Opener

The one risk involved with the Toronto Maple Leafs going all in on Joseph Woll as their No. 1 goaltender this year was always going to be his health. He's missed more than his share of games in the course of his young career. So it's not a good omen that he's had to be scratched already, for the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night. In fact, Woll has now been placed on injured reserve.

BREAKING: Anthony Stolarz will start tonight. Joseph Woll is experiencing lower-body tightness and is OUT. ❌

— @dalter #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/GJPqpVHJfR
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) October 9, 2024

Head Coach Craig Berube said Woll complained of tightness after practice Tuesday, so Anthony Stolarz will start in his stead for the opener, and likely the first four games of the season.

Dennis Hildeby has been recalled to backup Stolarz.

Woll inked a 3-year, $3.66 million contract this offseason to be the team's starter going forward. But he has to be able to stay on the ice. He missed more than two months last season because of a high ankle sprain, then was suddenly unavailable at the last moment for the most important game of the season—Game 7 against the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.

Leafs Nation is obviously upset with this development, in another 'here we go again' moment. The following podcast clip is NSFW:

"It's the very first day of the year & you're f**king hurt. I don't get it, man."

- Alongside @thegoldenmuzzy, @Jay_D_Rosehill weighed in on the Joseph Woll injury news ahead of the season opener in Montreal pic.twitter.com/GJLMTS8uHl
— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) October 9, 2024

Woll wound up starting just 23 games last season, going 12-11-1 with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. In his three appearances in the playoffs, he was stellar, posting a ridiculous .964 Sv% and an equally insane 0.86 GAA. Which, of course, made his unavailability for Game 7 that much more painful.

All of this makes the Leafs' signing of an excellent backup like Stolarz so important. He agreed to a two-year, $2.5 million AAV contract as a free agent this past summer.