The Toronto Maple Leafs are all excited that goalie Joseph Woll is returning to the team.
Woll has been away from the team since the end of training camp due to personal reasons. Yet, the goalie returned to the team on Friday, and the Maple Leafs were all excited about it.
Toronto forward John Tavares had a heart-warming message when asked about Woll returning to the team.
“We’re really happy Joe’s rejoining the group,” Tavares said. “We’ve really missed him, not just on the ice but certainly as part of our team. He’s been here for a number of years and we love him as a guy. He’s a big part of the group. His personality and the competitiveness he brings, the attention to detail he brings to his game. Looking forward to having him back here. We’ve missed him.”
Woll has begun practicing and will need some time before getting back into game action. But, Tavares is just glad to see his Maple Leafs teammate back with the group and in the locker room.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, meanwhile, was also eager for Woll to return to the lineup.
“It’s great to have (Woll) back,” Berube said. “He’s excited to be back. We’re excited, obviously, too. It was great to see him on the ice (Saturday).”
Maple Leafs Will Have a Goalie Decision to Make
Although Toronto will be able to slowly build Woll back up, once he’s ready to play, the Maple Leafs will have to make a goalie decision.
Toronto is carrying Anthony Stolarz and Cayden Primeau, whom the Maple Leafs claimed off waivers after Woll stepped away from the team.
Once Woll is back to playing, the Maple Leafs will have to decide whether to carry three goalies or put Primeau on waivers and risk another team claiming him.
Primeau, meanwhile, is just taking it day by day and not worrying about his future.
“I’m just taking it day by day,” Primeau said. “It’s all you can do.”
Primeau, meanwhile, is eager to chat with Woll and learn from him.
“Two American goalies,” Primeau said of Woll. “We’ve never played together, but we’ve seen each other and played against each other a bunch. It’s great to have him back. I know the guys were really missing him.”
Primeau stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced on Saturday in the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 OT win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Toronto Played ‘Pissed Off’ In Win Over Sabres
The Maple Leafs snapped their three-game losing streak on Saturday with a comeback OT win over the Sabres.
It was a good performance from the Maple Leafs, and Berube felt like the team played pissed off to get the win.
“A gritty win is how I kind of look at it,” Berube said postgame. “The difference is that we were better at defending the odd-man rushes and things like that. I think we gave up two in the first period, and they capitalized on one of them. But we were above things all night.
“It was a low-event game, but when you play teams like this, you have to make sure you aren’t giving up those freebies. I thought our guys played hard. I liked the jam they played with tonight. We were physical, and there were a couple of nice hits. A little bit pissed off.”
The Maple Leafs will return to the ice on Tuesday at home against the Calgary Flames.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Maple Leafs’ John Tavares Has Heart-Warming Message to Joseph Woll Amid Return appeared first on Heavy Sports.