Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz will undergo a minor procedure to remove a loose body in his knee, general manager Brad Treliving told reporters Tuesday (via TSN). As a result, Toronto’s starter will miss the next four to six weeks.
Treliving said Stolarz underwent an MRI in the last few days, which revealed no other structural damage. He left his most recent start, an eventual win over the Ducks on Dec. 12, with a lower-body injury after the first period. He’s already missed two games but will now miss around 15 more, with a return in mid-to-late January on the horizon.
It’s worse news than the Leafs expected when they initially awarded him a day-to-day designation and placed him on injured reserve, assuming he wouldn’t miss more than the minimum seven days required for an IR placement. Nonetheless, undergoing surgery now and dealing with a lengthy mid-season absence is far preferable to a snowballing injury that forces him to miss extended time closer to the postseason.
Unfortunately, Stolarz is no stranger to significant knee injuries. He missed most of the 2017-18 campaign while in the Flyers system after undergoing knee surgery during training camp, and another knee surgery ended his 2022-23 campaign with the Ducks in February.
Luckily, that hasn’t stopped Stolarz from becoming an elite tandem/backup option when healthy. His .927 SV% in 17 games with Toronto this season has him on pace to lead qualifying netminders in the statistic for the second season in a row. He posted a .925 SV% and 2.03 GAA, both league-best marks, in 27 games with the Panthers last year while backing up Sergei Bobrovsky. His 24 starts last season were a career-high, though, so despite his high-end numbers, there was understandable hesitance to crown him a starting-caliber netminder upon reaching free agency last summer. The Maple Leafs presented a good fit for him to split the workload with the up-and-coming Joseph Woll. He inked a two-year, $5MM contract to play in Canada for the first time since a short stint with the Oilers in 2019.
Toronto has had quite the revolving door of netminders over the past few seasons. Stolarz is one of eight since the beginning of the 2021-22 season to make at least 10 starts for the team, joining Woll, Ilya Samsonov, Jack Campbell, Matt Murray, Erik Källgren, Martin Jones, and Petr Mrázek. He’s put up the best numbers of any of them by a wide margin and is on pace to log the highest save percentage for a Toronto netminder since Curtis McElhinney had a .934 in 18 games in 2017-18.
The Leafs are left with Woll and Dennis Hildeby between the pipes for the next few weeks. Woll has also played well when dressed, posting an 8-4-0 record with a .918 SV%, 2.24 GAA and one shutout in 12 showings. He’s saved 5.9 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, ranking 12th in the league. He also has a lengthy injury history, though, and Hildeby isn’t a compelling No. 3 option. The big 23-year-old Swede has made three starts this season amid injuries to Stolarz and Woll, the first of his NHL career. He’s been serviceable but unimpressive, with a .875 SV% and 3.68 GAA. He also has a subpar .897 mark in six AHL starts this year.
It’s worth noting that the Maple Leafs still have Murray in the system if Hildeby falters. The 30-year-old missed nearly all last season after offseason hip surgery but has been good in the AHL in 2024-25 since clearing waivers, logging a .919 SV% and 2.15 GAA with a 3-1-3 record. If he comes up and gets a start, it would be the first for the two-time Stanley Cup champion since April 2, 2023.
Days of our Leafs
Why can’t we ever just have nice things? The hockey gods mock us I swear lol
Injuries have been the only thing keeping Stolarz from being a top goalie in this league. Always been a good puck stopper.
Nice going Berube! There was no reason whatsoever to start Stolarz against Anaheim after standing on his head two nights earlier. When a goalie is the best player one night and the club plays two days later you must treat that as a back to back and rest him.
Pretty soon Woll will be injured and the Leafs will be in a really dark place thanks to a stupid ill-timed decision by the head coach.
These mistakes CANNOT happen. But again it’s the Maple Leafs. Stupidity runs rampant within this organization.
LOL
Goalies should not play twice in three days? Where do you come up with this stuff? Hint: a back-to-back consists of games on back-to-back days.
First off, it sucks for Anthony Stolarz, don’t like seeing anyone get hurt as he’s having a standout season overall. He is a significant reason why the Leafs are having much success this season.
But as far as this effecting the Leafs, I don’t have a problem with it. I can’t stand that overrated media darling franchise & having them shoved down people’s throats. Seeing them lose & their nasty classless fanbase in Toronto whining & crying is a total pleasure. They’re the Dallas Cowboys of the NHL.
“When a body meets a body comin’ thro’ Stolarz’ knee…” – Robert Burns, 1784.
Stolarz, like any other guy trying to prove he’s worthy of being a #1 starter, needs to hit the 50-game, or so, mark and be reasonably sturdy in doing so. Until a netminder has the opportunity, he may not know how to prepare and rest to meet that target. If you’re oft-injured as a backup, it may not bode well for you in a starter’s role.