Maple Leafs training camp is less than three weeks away and even with changes that were done through the summer, goaltending questions continue to swirl around this team.
General manager Brad Treliving along with his staff chose to gut the previous goaltending tandem and install a new one which includes Joseph Woll, former Stanley Cup winning goaltender Anthony Stolarz and Matt Murray who was recently cleared to play again after having his hip rebuilt.
This tandem certainly has question marks as the leaves continue to work with questionable goaltenders who have either instability in their minds, issues that are physical and the ability to stay healthy throughout the season.
Last year's rankings put the Maple Leafs 21st in goals against and 24th out of 32 in five-on-five goals against. Those numbers are certainly not flattering, and changes were necessary. But many fans feel that these choices they have made may backfire on the team as Woll has had trouble staying healthy throughout an entire season and only has 36 games of NHL experience.
Stolarz played well last year but it's safe to say that he was on one of the best defensive teams in the NHL which could shield him from poor play. He signed a two-year deal with the Maple Leafs which gives Treliving some runway to find out if he can do the job or if they need to look elsewhere after the contract is over.
Gone are the days of consistent stellar goaltenders throughout the league as many goaltenders now are relatively the same with a few standouts including Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.
It seems the Leafs are convinced that these players can get the job done but it's likely that the Maple Leafs will continue to insulate their goaltending with better defensemen as the Maple Leafs have revamped their entire defense core and are likely looking for more help over the next coming days and weeks.
