Maple Leafs turn to Joseph Woll for his first start of the season when they need him most

With the latest injury to Anthony Stolarz, the Toronto Maple Leafs are searching for stability in goal in the short term, as they've had to rely on Dennis Hildeby and even called up rookie Artur Akhtyamov in case of emergency.

Those issues aren't going to go away anytime soon, however the team is expected to see the return of Joseph Woll in net on Saturday night against Chicago.

Having left the team prior to the start of the season due to personal matters, he recently finished up his conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and is set to come back to the big club.

In an update a couple hours close to game time, the team will indeed have Woll in net against Chicago on Saturday night:

Woll commented on his availability Friday noting that he was ready for anything the team throws at him, and he may not be waiting around long to find out.

Right now, Woll's return is one of the few positives in what has been a rough start to the season.

Between the lack of help defensively, a wave of injuries, and the pressure to deliver results, the Maple Leafs in 2025 have not been good.

The team ranks last in goals against and sits near the bottom of important categories like expected goals against, high-danger chances against, and possession numbers.

If Woll can come in and replicate at least part of what he did last season, things could turn around for the Maple Leafs.

He went 27-14-1 with a 2.73 GAA and .909 SV% and alongside Anthony Stolarz were the first duo in franchise history to win 20+ games each.

There's still a lot of time for the team to turn things around, but they need to tighten up their defense and get back to having the stable goaltending that carried them through the tough stretches last year.

Part of that involves Joseph Woll, who will have his hands full on Saturday with minimal room for error.