After a stunning season in the AHL, 32 Thoughts host Eliotte Friedman revealed that goaltender Dennis Hildeby had been a better grab for the Toronto Maple Leafs than first thought. The Toronto Maple Leafs were busy in the offseason, trading for players primarily outside their core. After losing Ilya Samsonov <a href='https://www.nhl.com/news/ilya-samsonov-signs-1-year-contract-with-vegas-golden-knights' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>to the Vegas Golden Knights,</a> Brad Treliving signed Joseph Woll to a <a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/joseph-woll-signs-three-year-10-98-million-extension-with-maple-leafs/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>three-year contract</a> before <a href='https://www.nhl.com/news/anthony-stolarz-signs-2-year-contract-with-toronto-maple-leafs' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>adding on</a> Anthony Stolarz, who had just helped the Florida Panthers secure <a href='https://www.npr.org/2024/06/25/nx-s1-5010437/the-florida-panthers-bring-home-their-teams-first-stanley-cup' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>their first franchise Stanley Cup.</a> Yet, Their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, did not seem to make any massive swings with their goalie. Instead, they are keeping 23-year-old Dennis Hildeby. The former fourth-round draft pick had a stellar season, recording a GAA of 2.41 with a .913 save percentage in 41 games. With these impressive stats, he is credited with one of the best rookie Marlies goaltending seasons with 21 wins in total. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Kyle_Cush/status/1821995297146364358'> </a></blockquote></div> However, Dennis Hildeby has not just been an asset for the Toronto Maple Leafs franchise playing for the Marlies. In<a href='https://www.sportsnet.ca/podcasts/32-thoughts/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>a recent edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast,</a> NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that he is likely their best AHL prospect. While this may be no surprise, he added that the other teams talked to the organization about a possible trade. Toronto management, however, reportedly had no intention of making any deals that would send him away. <q>Hildeby, who played the whole game and won [on Saturday], someone said to me he was by far the Leafs' best prospect in the American Hockey League last year, and there's nothing we've seen so far that disputes that. I'm pretty sure they got asked about him last year, and I don't think they ever considered it seriously, and you can see that they have -- I think they're starting to have bigger future plans for this guy.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1840736041575059847'> </a></blockquote></div> As Elliotte Friedman explained, there is unlikely anyone from the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect pool in the AHL that has more promise than Dennis Hildeby. While he has not yet made an official NHL appearance in the regular season, he has already made an impressive showing behind the crease during the preseason. After helping ease the team against the Ottawa Senators, he made <a href='https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/mark-masters-dennis-hildeby-impresses-in-pre-season-start-in-front-of-maple-leafs-legend-sundin-1.2180928' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>his first preseason start,</a> blocking an impressive 26 of 27 shots, securing a win against the Montreal Canadiens. <q>In his first ever NHL pre-season start, Dennis Hildeby stopped 26 of 27 shots to help a young Toronto Maple Leafs team pick up a win in Montreal.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Leafslatest/status/1840209904851693696'> </a></blockquote></div> After an almost incomparable season in the AHL and a clear ability to play at the NHL level, there should be no surprise that other teams were looking to pick up Dennis Hildeby. Provided his performance so far, he would also likely bring high value back to Toronto. However, the Maple Leafs probably need to hold onto him just as much as any other team. With likely starting goaltender Joseph Woll's <a href='https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/joseph-woll-player-injuries' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>propensity toward injury,</a> Dennis Hildeby can be a solid future starter for the team in the NHL in the coming years. Their aging goaltender in tandem even took the time when talking to the media to praise the young goalie for his precision, predicting a bright future for him. <q>For such a big guy, he moves extremely well. I think once he starts getting that experience, I think he's going to be one helluva goalie in this league. I mean, you know, thinking back to where I was at his age, I don't think I was as crisp as him.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Kyle_Cush/status/1837596500844564550'> </a></blockquote></div> The Toronto plays their next preseason matchup on <a href='https://www.nhl.com/mapleleafs/schedule/2024/fullseason' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Thursday, October 3rd</a>d against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. The team has yet to release their lineup for the game but in all likelihood, Dennis Hildeby will be behind the crease at some point again before the start of the regular season. If he continues to perform as he did with the Marlies or against the Habs, there is little knowing what sort of offers lie ahead for Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs. Source: Maple Leafs Daily <a href='https://www.mapleleafsdaily.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/maple-leafs-reportedly-turn-down-multiple-trade-offers-for-top-rookie-goalie' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Maple Leafs Reportedly Turn Down Multiple Trade Offers For Top Rookie Goalie</a>