Maple Leafs Expected to Assign Joseph Woll to the AHL After Prolonged Absence

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been up-and-down early in the 2025/26 season, and perhaps one of the bigger reasons for that is their inconsistencies in the backup goalie spot.

Unfortunately, Joseph Woll suffered an injury early in the season, with GM Brad Treliving at the time revealing that the timeline for his return was uncertain at that point, although he's begun to work his way back recently.

Now, it's been revealed that Woll is getting closer to a return, and according to Treliving, he will likely play a few games with the AHL's Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan ahead of his return.

After being placed on LTIR late last week, retroactive to earlier in the month, Woll is eligible to return on November 1st, but with that being just a matter of days away, Treliving has confirmed that Woll won't be ready by that point.

However, Woll is on the ice ahead of his potential return, but getting on the ice and being in game shape are two completely different things, with the team confident he'll be back soon, just not as early as November 1.

In his place, the team have turned to Cayden Primeau for two starts early in the year, and with a 3.46 GAA, he's been more than serviceable behind Anthony Stolarz, but if the team are to go deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, they'll need their top two goaltenders ready to go by then.