More details have been revealed about the looming contract extension for Toronto Maple Leafs starting goaltender Anthony Stolarz. The latest reports claim that Stolarz’s next deal will land in the realm of a four-year, $16MM contract, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and NHL.com’s Kevin Weekes. That figure would come in just shy of the five-year deals recently signed by Kevin Lankinen and Karel Vejmelka, who served as comparable contracts in the negotiation process.
It’s no surprise to see the 31-year-old Stolarz leaning towards a team-friendly deal. He was a goaltending phenom for the Leafs last year, recording a 21-8-3 record and .926 save percentage through 36 games. It was an impressive follow-up from Stolarz’s 16 wins and .925 Sv% in 27 games of the 2023-24 season. But those two seasons, along with 28 games in 2021-22, were the most he’s played in a single NHL season. He has yet to prove he can stand up to a full starting workload, despite defaulting to that position for Toronto when healthy. A contract extension and bid of full health will put Stolarz in a position to prove his might over a full year as soon as next season.
Other notes from the Great North:
- Sticking in Toronto, it appears the team could soon shop around some of their surplus bottom-six wingers. Players like Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf, and Nicholas Robertson could end up on the trade block, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on the latest episode of Hello Hockey. Toronto is certainly facing a wealth of veteran wingers who have failed to break out of depth minutes – a growing problem as the team looks to promote top prospects like Easton Cowan. Clearing out some space could put the Leafs into position to stock the shelves, and bet on their top youngsters, ahead of a year where they’ll need big performances without 100-point scorer Mitch Marner.
- Pagnotta went on to share that the Vancouver Canucks could be one of the teams looking to reel in bottom-six talent. Vancouver is expected to lean on youngsters like Linus Karlsson and Aatu Raty, as well as depth veterans Drew O’Connor and Teddy Blueger, when the season kicks off. There’s certainly opportunity for upgrading that depth sooner rather than later, though reeling in a hardy impact could cost Vancouver valuable draft capital or a solid prospect.