Maple Leafs provide critical update on Joseph Woll

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had anything but a stable goaltending situation this season. They entered the year with the tandem of Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll, both of whom saw action in the postseason last spring, with the latter replacing the former after an injury in the first game of Round 2. 

Woll would eventually replace Samsonov as the starter in net owing to the Russian native' struggles, but he would soon suffer a devastating ankle injury on December 7 against Ottawa that has kept him out of game action for the last several weeks. Meanwhile, Samsonov would even be waived by the Leafs and demoted to the American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies.

Veteran Martin Jones, who started the year 3rd on the depth chart, was thrust into action and performed better than almost anyone expected.

The good news for the Leafs is that Woll is nearing a return to game play for Toronto. He's been practicing with the team, and it was announced earlier today that he's been loaned to the Marlies for a conditioning stint, a clear sign that he's on the verge of being cleared to play for the Leafs. 

Prior to this past weekend's game against the St. Louis Blues, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe provided an update on Woll's progress, stating that it's essentially up to him to decide when he's in fair enough shape to return to the NHL. 

"As far as when we'll use Joseph, that's more so to him," Keefe said. "At this point, you're just kind of waiting for him to tell you where he's at and continue to build him up."

According to beat writer Luke Fox, the Leafs current plan for Woll is to play a game with the Marlies and then see how he feels.

Woll has amassed a record of 8-5-1 so far this season with a 2.80 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

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