1. Can Joseph Woll stay healthy enough to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL?
The departure of Ilya Samsonov to the Vegas Golden Knights in free agency means the 26-year-old has a great shot to grab the starter's job and run with it, although he'll be pushed by free agent acquisition Anthony Stolarz, who backed up Sergei Bobrovsky with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers last season.
In order to take full advantage of the opportunity, Woll will have to buck the injury trend that has limited him to 36 regular-season appearances in his three-year NHL career, with a 21-13-1 record, a 2.76 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
The latest injury came in Game 6 against the Bruins last season, when Woll sprained his back in a failed attempt to stop a shot by Bruins forward Morgan Geekie in the final seconds. Had he not been hurt, he was Toronto's choice to start Game 7, which the Maple Leafs eventually lost 2-1 in overtime.
General manager Brad Treliving said the team is being proactive in examining Woll’s injury issues.
"I've got faith in Joe," Treliving said. "The biggest question about Joe is he's getting injured a lot. We have to dig into that. Sometimes that happens, sometimes bad luck happens. Is there a training issue that we have to deal with?
"We need to change something in his off-ice routine."