Entering the new year tied for second-last in the Atlantic division, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not where they were this time last year. On the ice, the team has struggled to find consistency in their game, resulting in blown leads, a bottom-ten power play success rate, and the firing of an assistant coach Marc Savard on December 22, 2025. 

Dealing with injuries and inconsistent performances, a reliable game-day lineup and strategy that could give the team a needed boost in the standings and the confidence that comes with it is yet to be found. 

Despite the current predicament, Toronto’s goaltending hasn’t fallen into the dominant narrative surrounding the team. As of December 30, 2025, ESPN showed a goaltender as the Leafs’ top performer in just over a quarter of games played. 

This is particularly interesting considering that the bulk of these valuable performances have come from the Leafs’ second and third starting goalies, Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby. On a team where the focus often seems most on the individual performances of the top-line offence, Toronto’s goaltending displays some of its reliable depth in positions other than forward. 

Toronto’s goaltenders have faced similar issues to the rest of the team, particularly with injuries. On November 11, 2025, in a game against the Boston Bruins, Anthony Stolarz exited with an undisclosed injury, being placed on the injured reserve (IR) indefinitely. At this point, Woll, the regular second starting goalie for the Leafs, was still making conditioning starts after missing most of October attending to a personal matter. 

In the midst of this, Hildeby, a 24-year-old goaltender who has mainly played with the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Toronto Marlies, appearing in only six major league games last season, was given charge of the crease. Since his first start on November 9, 2025, he’s posted a 0.910 per cent save average, 11th overall in the NHL amongst goalies who have played in 12 or more games in 2025–2026. 

Woll made his first Leafs start of the season on November 15, 2025, against the Chicago Blackhawks. Since then, Hildeby and Woll have split their starts almost equally. Woll himself has put up the NHL’s third-best save average, 0.912 per cent, in the 15 games he has played, earning his first shutout of the season in a 4–0 win over the New Jersey Devils on December 30, 2025. 

Both Woll and Hildeby are homegrown talents, playing in the Leafs’ minor league system before taking on their current major league roles with the team. Both are players who developed their skills in the minor leagues and were gradually offered opportunities to play in the NHL as they improved. 

If the Leafs can shift focus towards player development, building a strong team based on potential and where they see consistency and practiced playmaking in both their current roster and minor league affiliations, they can form a sturdier foundation for winning, not just this year but in the future as well. 

Raw talent is something the Maple Leafs have no shortage of. But to win and to win consistently, they need a team that — up and down the lineup — is confident that they can rely on each other’s performances.