An insider Joseph Woll trade proposal is going viral, and it’s hard to ignore
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
According to Nick Kypreos, the Toronto Maple Leafs could end up making a goalie swap to settle things down, and bring in a familiar face for head coach Craig Berube.
As the questions start to get more and more pressing, the topic of what exactly the Maple Leafs can offer teams in way of trade is starting to appear at the forefront.
They don't have any assets to buy, and while they could sell high on what they have they aren't guaranteed to get the return they are looking for, and may even end up making a worse decision by simply doing nothing.
This team needs to start being proactive and while it may hurt to make certain trades, if they make the team better going forward then they need to be made.
Toronto trades their Wonder-Woll? Kyper thinks so
That's the mentality for Nick Kypreos, and a footnote in his most recent article poses a question that could become more of a reality than we think: Could Toronto trade Joseph Woll?
Specifically, Kypreos wonders if the Maple Leafs would be willing to trade Woll for a chance at more of a sure thing in net and bring someone familiar with Craig Berube into the fold -- Jordan Binnington:
The goalie position, which should have been the least of their worries, has turned into one of the Leafs’ biggest headaches.
Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz are underachieving at unforeseen levels right now. Would flipping Woll in a package to his hometown St. Louis Blues for Jordan Binnington make sense at this point?
Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz are underachieving at unforeseen levels right now. Would flipping Woll in a package to his hometown St. Louis Blues for Jordan Binnington make sense at this point?
Well if you're on the outside looking in you'd think it's a no brainer considering the level of goaltending that the Maple Leafs already have, and exchanging that for someone who is a proven winner is a great call.
But they also have a proven winner who occupies the crease with Woll right now in Anthony Stolarz and that hasn't worked. Could Binnington; a player who has injury concerns as well, and also some attitude issues, be the solution?
Binnington would blow things up...and not in a good way
There's no doubt he has the talent. Although he's struggled this season, it doesn't underscore his career accomplishments. He's a Cup winner, has a 181-131-42 record with a 2.84 GAA and .904 SV% and has backstopped Team Canada in some big games including the Olympics.
He's also kind of a mean dude out there, and won't be pushed around in his crease and will take umbrage with people getting rough with him though his attitude may rub some the wrong way at times.
But you're swapping two more years of Woll at $3.6-million for one more year of Binnington at $6-million. Now, that's fine and dandy but this is a retool and a potential rebuild if things go even worse.
What if Binnington doesn't re-sign? You have Stolarz and Hildeby running things, with the former as injury prone and inconsistent as can be and a solid but still fairly unproven goalie as his #2.
Then you've lost another homegrown talent for an NHL goaltender. Huh, I wonder what happened the last time the Maple Leafs were in this situation?
As much as Kypreos might want to salvage this season, you really shouldn't entertain trading a goaltending asset until the summer. At least then you can have a clearer idea of what direction this team is going and who will be running things.
Why waste a potential star goaltender on a chance to save an already lost season? It's why fools rush in where angels fear to tread -- the risk greatly outweighs the potential benefits.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 31|1484 ANSWERS An insider Joseph Woll trade proposal is going viral, and it’s hard to ignore Should Toronto keep or trade Joseph Woll? | ||
| Keep | 1070 | 72.1 % |
| Trade | 414 | 27.9 % |
| List of polls | ||