The Toronto Maple Leafs will turn to Dennis Hildeby for Tuesday night’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to head coach Craig Berube.

Berube told reporters after Monday’s morning skate that Joseph Woll was a possibility to make his season debut for tonight’s game. It turns out that he is not quite ready to get the nod, though the bench boss did say that the netminder is ‘close’ but didn’t elaborate further.

Woll has been on IR since the start of the campaign due to lower-body tightness that he suffered at the tail end of the preseason. The Leafs have been cautious with his recovery due to the commitment they made to him last summer along with the strong start to the campaign by Anthony Stolarz. While it was plausible for him to play in Columbus, being seen at the optional morning skate along with David Kampf and Timothy Liljegren signalled that the team opted to give him a little bit more time to rest before giving him the green light to return.

Hildeby played well in his previous start against the New Jersey Devils where he posted a .912 SV% and a 2.02 GAA for his first career victory. That game was on the second half of a back-to-back, which the Leafs are hoping he can replicate the result this time around.

Speaking of Kampf, he will be a healthy scratch for Tuesday’s game while Ryan Reaves slots back into the fold after he sat out on Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is just the second time in his Leafs tenure that the Czech forward will get the night off as the previous instance was last December against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Toronto is fortunate to have plenty of forward depth available which allows them to rotate some players in and out, as was the case with Max Pacioretty last week. That being said, Kampf was among the names being considered as trade candidates before the start of the season and his ATOI both at even strength and on the penalty kill is down compared to last year. There is certainly time for Kampf to turn things around for his fortunes and a move is not imminent, but it is certainly intriguing that he is on the outside looking in for a game this early in the season.

As for Liljegren, Berube did not confirm whether the Swedish blueliner would get into tonight’s game but his aforementioned appearance at the morning skate suggests he is projected to sit for a second straight night. Having only appeared in one game to start the season, he is involved in trade rumours and his time in Toronto may soon be coming to an end.