Analyst suggests Maple Leafs may have a goalie trade coming

Joseph Woll was far from his best on Thursday night, giving up 4 goals on 17 shots and being pulled in favour of rookie Dennis Hildeby early in the second period.

The 24-year-old stopped 22 of 23 shots in relief, including a ridiculous blocker save on Mark Scheifele in the dying seconds to preserve the win, which garnered quite the reaction from Woll.

While Woll didn't have his best outing, Hildeby made a number of big saves before robbing Scheifele to keep the Leafs within striking distance. The netminder has been excellent for the Buds this season when called upon, as they continue to wait on the return of Anthony Stolarz.

Injuries and a leave of absence for Woll have shown just how important depth in goal is. It can give a team a chance to win games they have no business winning, as we saw on Thursday.

Through 15 games, Hildeby has just a 3-5-4 record, but has a sparkling .914 save percentage and respectable 2.90 GAA while Woll is 8-4-1 with a similar .916 save percentage and 2.74 GAA.

In early December on The Real Kyper and Bourne, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos made a wild suggestion for the Leafs to trade one of their goalies once Stolarz returned.

During the post-game show, Kypreos was quick to double down on that suggestion, saying the Leafs should use their depth in goal to fill some other needs -- pointing to the blueline if Chris Tanev is done for the season.

Sure, it may sound like a good idea, but at the time he initially proposed it, Justin Bourne noted it was a 'rob Peter to pay Paul' proposal -- and it still is, particularly with the uncertainty surrounding the history of injuries for Woll and Stolarz.

It bears mentioning that Hildeby will lose his waivers exemption at the end of this season, so a move may be coming one way or another to avoid losing a goalie for nothing.