The Toronto Maple Leafs with a lineup closer to an AHL roster, romped 7-2 over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday, who dressed a roster heavily laden with players who will make up their starting roster on opening night, less than two weeks from now. Fourth liners Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz each had a pair of goals, Bobby McMann, Matt Benning, and Ryan Tverberg added singles for Toronto, and Dennis Hildeby had a light night, facing only 13 Habs shots in the contest.
The Leafs goaltending has been a central focus since the opening of training camp, with the contract situation of veteran Anthony Stolarz, and Joseph Woll’s leave of absence. Hildeby played six games for the Leafs last season and there appears to be confidence that the 24-year-old Swede can handle the backup duties behind Stolarz on a temporary basis, but there were reports on Thursday that GM Brad Treliving might be looking for a veteran netminder to fill the Matt Murray role as the club’s third goaltender.
On Friday, the club announced that they have signed former Leaf James Reimer to a professional tryout contract (PTO). The 37-year-old played 24 games between the Anaheim Ducks and Buffalo Sabres last season, posting a 10-8-2 record with their Atlantic Division rival and 2.90 GAA last season.
Treliving spoke to the media earlier in the week and indicated that Woll is taking time away from the team to attend to a personal family matter. A statement later indicated that the club would not provide any further information at this point in time, but Treliving did indicate that the reason for the absence was not substance-related in nature.
Woll, 26, played 42 games for the Leafs last season, with a 27-14-1 record, 2.73 GAA, and .909 save percentage.
Reimer, who was drafted by Toronto in the fourth round in 2006, and played his first six seasons with the Leafs, posting a 85-76-23 record, 2.83 GAA and .914 save %, before being dealt to San Jose in 2016. He has also played with Florida, Carolina, and Detroit in his career, and played well down the stretch for Buffalo with starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen struggling.
The move makes sense in that the Leafs do not have any idea when Woll will return, that Stolarz has a checkered injury history, and that Hildeby is unproven at the NHL level, but Toronto has not signed Reimer to an NHL deal as of yet. If they do, it is likely that he will be placed on waivers to play as Murray did with the AHL Marlies occasionally and be a third option for the Leafs just in case.
