On The Hockey News’ latest edition of "The Big Show", THN editor-in-chief Ryan Kennedy and director of digital media Michael Traikos were joined by former NHL goalie Devan Dubnyk. On the show, Dubnyk was asked, if you were starting an NHL franchise, which goalie would you build around?
The former goaltender had to choose between the Toronto Maple Leafs' Joseph Woll or Calgary Flames' Dustin Wolf.
Dubnyk told Kennedy and Traikos he’d choose Wolf over Woll – and in this writer’s opinion, that’s the right answer.
This is not to take away from the promise Woll has shown in his last two years in the NHL. Woll posted a save percentage of .907 and a goals-against average of 2.94 in 25 regular-season games in his rookie season, then followed that up with a .909 SP and 2.73 GAA in 42 games. The Maple Leafs are pleased with Woll’s development, especially considering that he’s under contract at a very manageable $3.66-million salary for the next three seasons.
However, compared to Wolf – a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie last season – we’re going to go with him over Woll. Wolf was more of a workhorse than Woll last season, appearing in 53 games for the Flames while registering a .910 SP and 2.64 GAA. Given that Calgary’s D-corps isn’t nearly as deep or strong as Toronto’s was last season, Wolf’s individual numbers look even more impressive.
Another factor that went into our choice of Wolf over Woll is Woll’s performance in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. While Woll wasn’t in Toronto’s net while the Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the post-season, when Woll was called into action in the second round against the eventual Cup-champion Florida Panthers, Woll’s individual numbers weren’t particularly strong.
Indeed, in seven games against the Panthers, Woll put up a .886 SP and 3.56 GAA. It's not to say that Woll’s play was the reason why the Maple Leafs were eliminated by Florida. However, Leafs brass would like to see better numbers than what Woll produced.
Wolf didn't get a chance to make an appearance in the playoffs, but was a key contributor to Calgary's wild-card push. For the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, the Flames equalled the St. Louis Blues in points with 96. However, the Blues finished with 44 wins in the regular season to the Flames' 41. Therefore, the tiebreaker went in favor of St. Louis.
Who knows, perhaps Woll’s play in the 2025-26 season will make him a better pick than Wolf to build a team around. Woll is still only 27 years old, and in some cases, goalies don’t hit their stride for many years after breaking into the league.
But while that may change our answer to that question another day, for now, Wolf is the right choice to build a team around. Wolf had to deal with the spotlight that comes with playing in a Canadian market, and thrived in it last season. Also, Wolf is just 24 years old, so the ceiling in his game could be notably higher than that of Woll’s game.
Ultimately, both Woll and Wolf may grow into the best of the best at their position. But questions like the one Dubnyk, Traikos and Kennedy posed are fun ways to debate and discuss the impact made by NHLers.
And as it stands, Wolf stands out just a bit more than Woll. That may change over time, but for now, Wolf has done more than Woll and deserves to be the choice to build a team around.
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