Latest On Anthony Stolarz, Matias Maccelli
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without netminder Anthony Stolarz due to an upper-body injury for more than a month, with the goalie last playing Nov. 11 against the Boston Bruins. Stolarz was initially believed to be out only on a day-to-day basis, but Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media later on that Stolarz’s injury was “worse” than the team originally thought.
Yesterday, Berube answered questions from the media regarding Stolarz’s status, and per The Hockey News’ David Alter, he said Stolarz remains sidelined without a timeline to even begin skating once again.
When asked whether Stolarz’s injury could be season-ending, Berube said he “wouldn’t go there” but added that Stolarz is “not going to be on the ice anytime soon.” The fact that Stolarz looks increasingly likely to miss significant time with this injury is a serious issue for a Maple Leafs team that has struggled, as a whole, in 2025-26.
The Maple Leafs lost star winger Mitch Marner to free agency over the summer, and haven’t been able to find their footing this year. The regular season has been a formality for the Maple Leafs for more than a half-decade, with the club safely reaching playoff position in the Atlantic Division on an annual basis.
Things have been very different this year. The Maple Leafs have had far more trouble collecting points this regular season compared to the past, as they currently sit sixth in the Atlantic Division and four points adrift of the New Jersey Devils who occupy the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card spot.
A factor in the team’s struggles this season has been goaltending. They surrender 3.26 goals against per game, which puts them just outside the top-10 in the NHL in terms of most goals against per game. Last season, Toronto surrendered the eighth-fewest goals per game in the NHL. Last season, Toronto got strong goaltending from its tandem of Stolarz and Joseph Woll, with Stolarz posting a .926 save percentage in 34 games and Woll registering a .909 save percentage in 42 games.
While Woll has kept up his high level of performance, he’s only managed to play in eight games. Stolarz, who played in 13 games before his injury, was not playing up to the standard he set last season, with an .884 save percentage. The result of injuries in the crease in Toronto has been that the Maple Leafs have had to rely on a revolving cast of goaltenders to fill in for its two established veterans.
24-year-old 2022 fourth-round draft choice Dennis Hildeby has filled in admirably, posting a .923 save percentage across 11 games. Early-season waiver claim Cayden Primeau, who has since returned to the Carolina Hurricanes organization, fared worse, posting a .838 save percentage in three games.
With Stolarz now poised to miss significant time, it’s entirely possible the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes end up in the hands of Hildeby.
The towering Swede has been solid at the AHL level, but outside of his brief run this season and a short cameo of six games last year, he’s largely untested at the NHL level.
With so much at stake in Toronto, it’s fair to wonder whether Stolarz’s absence might prompt the club to seek outside reinforcement in net via the trade market.
Speaking of the trade market, one Maple Leafs player whose name is reportedly surfacing on the rumor mill is Matias Maccelli. According to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, Maccelli’s “name is making the rounds” as his struggles to find his footing in Toronto continue. Maccelli has not played since Nov. 28 and has been a healthy scratch for seven consecutive games.
Clearly, this is not what Toronto envisioned when they traded a third-round pick to the Utah Mammoth to acquire Maccelli in June. Once viewed as a promising up-and-coming playmaker during his days with the Arizona Coyotes, Maccelli’s offensive production did not survive the franchise’s move north to Salt Lake City. He scored 17 goals and 57 points in 2023-24 but only managed 18 points in 55 games last season as he lost his grip on a regular lineup spot.
There was some hope that Maccelli could find chemistry with one of Toronto’s star forwards and be able to have a breakout season, lessening the blow of losing Marner. While Maccelli certainly has the talent to have that kind of breakout campaign, the desired chemistry with Toronto’s existing scorers simply hasn’t materialized.
A pending RFA with a $3.425MM cap hit, Maccelli’s best path forward might be to be traded out of Toronto. According to Pagnotta, that may be a path forward that is already being explored.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Injury Updates: Stolarz, Durzi, Cernak
Toronto Maple Leafs starting netminder Anthony Stolarz has been out with an upper-body injury for a little over a week, and at the moment it’s unclear at what point he’ll be fit to return to the ice. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media today, including the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan, that Stolarz’s injury was “worse than we thought” and that at this point he does not have a timeline for Stolarz’s return to the ice.
While Berube did go on to add that “maybe tomorrow” Stolarz will be back on the ice, it doesn’t sound as though anything related to his recovery is set in stone. The Maple Leafs could certainly use a healthy Stolarz back on the ice and playing at his best. The team currently sits 27th in the NHL with a 9-9-2 record and averages the second-highest goals-against per game. Stolarz has an .884 save percentage in 13 games this season, but performed much better last year with a .926 save percentage in 34 games.
More injury updates from around the league:
- The Utah Mammoth are set to get one of their better defensemen back from injury. Cole Bagley of KSL Sports relayed word from head coach Andre Tourigny that injured blueliner Sean Durzi is now considered out on a day-to-day timeline and is nearing a return to the ice. Durzi returned to practice in a regular jersey today, having missed all of the Mammoth’s games since their Oct. 11 contest against the Nashville Predators. Injuries also limited Durzi significantly in 2024-25, as he got into just 30 games. The year before that, he was highly effective, scoring a career-high 41 points in 76 games.
- When Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak stepped onto the ice for practice this morning, most observers assumed he’d be fit to play in the team’s game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers. That didn’t come to fruition though, as his injury kept him from taking on the Oilers tonight, meaning he’ll miss a second game with an undisclosed ailment. Cernak has been Tampa Bay’s No. 4 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, averaging 19:05 time-on-ice per game including 2:48 on average on the penalty kill, second-highest on the team.
Maple Leafs Claim Troy Stecher Off Waivers From Oilers
The Maple Leafs have turned to the waiver wire to add some depth on the back end. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed blueliner Troy Stecher off waivers from Edmonton. To free up a roster spot, the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 11th.
The 31-year-old is in his third season with the Oilers after being acquired from Arizona back in 2024. After playing somewhat of a regular role last season when he made 66 appearances, playing time has been much harder to come by in 2025-26. This season, Stecher has only played in six games and has been held off the scoresheet while adding three blocked shots in just under 14 minutes per night of playing time.
In his 10-year NHL career, Stecher has played in 566 games with six different teams and hasn’t been with a franchise for more than four seasons. He has 22 goals and 95 assists to his credit along with 629 blocked shots with a 17:25 ATOI.
Knowing that a cap crunch was coming with Zach Hyman nearing a return (he was officially activated earlier today and will make his season debut tonight), Edmonton had been looking to move Stecher in recent weeks. Clearly, no move came to fruition which resulted in yesterday’s waiver placement. With Stecher coming off the roster, the Oilers now have $212.5K remaining in their LTIR pool, per PuckPedia.
Toronto is currently without blueliner Chris Tanev who is out with an upper-body injury sustained in his first game after returning from a concussion. His injury has resulted in Dakota Mermis serving as the reserve defenseman in recent weeks. It’s possible that Stecher is being eyed as an upgrade for that spot although he could push Philippe Myers for playing time as well.
Stecher is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM contract which carries a $787.5K cap charge, making him a low-cost pickup for the Maple Leafs. He’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July.
As for Stolarz, he left Tuesday’s game against Boston due to an upper-body injury. Initially listed as out day-to-day, he’ll now miss at least a week past the 11th, ruling him out of Toronto’s next two games. He’s someone who could probably benefit from the rest as the 31-year-old has struggled mightily out of the gate, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in his first 13 appearances. Joseph Woll was recently recalled from his conditioning stint with the AHL’s Marlies and will be in uniform tonight against Chicago with Dennis Hildeby being their other active option.
Auston Matthews Out Roughly One Week, Anthony Stolarz Day-To-Day
Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews avoided a serious lower-body injury when he left Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins following a heavy hit from Nikita Zadorov. He’s been given a day-to-day designation but has been ruled out for tonight’s contest against the Kings with another absence or two expected after that, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Starting goalie Anthony Stolarz also left that contest with an upper-body issue and has also landed a day-to-day designation and won’t play against the Kings, per TSN’s Mark Masters, but hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday against the Blackhawks. With backup Joseph Woll still working his way back to playing shape in the minors on a conditioning stint, Toronto announced they’ve recalled netminder Artur Akhtyamov from AHL Toronto to backup third-stringer Dennis Hildeby tonight. Center Scott Laughton was placed on injured reserve in the corresponding move.
The injury is another speed bump in what’s been another slow start from Matthews. The three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner has seen his chance generation numbers drop significantly since his generational 69-goal season in 2023-24. In 17 appearances this season, he’s managed nine goals and 14 points. That’s a better pace than last year’s extreme fall-off that only saw him tally 33 markers in 67 appearances, but it’s still well below his career-average pace of 0.63 goals per game.
Luckily for the Leafs, their other stars have more than picked up the slack and helped them stay somewhat afloat at .500 despite faltering defense and goaltending. Matthew Knies and John Tavares are both flirting with 100-point paces early on, while William Nylander sits sixth in league scoring with 24 points despite missing three games with a lower-body issue.
But while Matthews was still one of the league’s most dominant two-way centers during last year’s scoring slump, the same can’t be said in the early going in 2025-26. He’s winning a career-best 59% of his faceoffs, but his possession metrics have faltered. The Leafs are only controlling 47.5% of shot attempts and 48% of expected goals with Matthews on the ice at even strength, the first time in his 10-year career that either number has been below 50%.
Nonetheless, Tavares’ resurgence, Nylander’s dominance, and Knies’ continued breakout should help the Leafs weather the storm for a few days. They’re expected to load up the top line with those three, at least for tonight, per Masters.
As for Stolarz, a reset – injury-related or not – is needed. The career elite backup/tandem option has been overtaxed with Woll unavailable, and his numbers have plummeted as a result. Among goalies with at least 10 appearances this season, Stolarz’s .884 SV% ranks 22nd out of 25 names, and his -5.3 goals saved above expected rank 23rd, per MoneyPuck.
Tonight will thus mark Hildeby’s fourth appearance in the last six days. He entered in relief of Stolarz against Boston twice, first on Nov. 8 and then on Tuesday, while starting in a 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes on Nov. 9. Despite his 0-2-0 record, he’s been the best goalie Toronto’s had to offer this season in his limited sample. He’s logged a .909 SV% and 3.74 GAA on 88 shots faced, good for 2.1 goals saved above expected behind the Leafs’ porous defense. He’s leaps and bounds ahead of what he showed in last year’s limited NHL stint, when he had a .872 mark in six showings with a 3-3-0 record.
If Akhtyamov is forced into action, it would be his NHL debut. The 24-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Toronto back in 2020 and is now in his second season in North America. After a decent rookie showing for the Marlies last year, he’s taken a step back with a .894 SV% and 2.82 GAA in six games to start this year, but still has a 4-2-0 record.
Meanwhile, Laughton is on his second injury-related absence of the season. He missed the first 13 games of the year with a lower-body injury and sustained an upper-body issue in just his second game back against the Bruins. Since his IR placement is retroactive to Nov. 8, he’s been ruled out for tonight’s game plus Saturday’s game against Chicago, but will be eligible to come off IR next Tuesday against the Blues.
Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz Leave Due To Injury
9:18 p.m.: Toronto Head Coach Craig Berube has provided updates, shared by Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: Stolarz is expected to be “fine”, while Matthews’ injury has no timeline or severity yet, as Berube told Siegel.
8:18 p.m.: Tonight’s game in Boston has dealt a blow to the Maple Leafs: the team announced that Auston Matthews and Anthony Stolarz will not return due to injury. Matthews has been diagnosed with a lower-body injury after taking a hit from behind into the boards from Nikita Zadorov. Meanwhile, Stolarz exited after playing the entire first period. With the Leafs off to a rough start, it appeared the team was just shaking things up between the pipes, but now, the team’s #1 goaltender has been listed with an upper-body ailment on top of their superstar captain’s injury.
Toronto is still trying to find its way in its new, post “Core-Four” era. 8-7-1, the team has fallen to second-to-last in the Atlantic, despite scoring the most goals in their division entering tonight. Sinking the Leafs has been in good part their own end, as they’ve allowed 60.
Matthews, always subject to criticism whether more warranted or not, has done his part with nine goals in 16 games. Now 28, he has been mostly durable in his first nine professional seasons, averaging just shy of 70 games a year. While a hit into the boards from behind from a player like Zadorov sounds highly alarming, it was a relatively routine play. Matthews got up, finished a check on Zadorov moments later in the corner, then skated to the bench without seeming bothered. The captain went to the locker room, but all things considered, it is hopefully not a major injury.
Meanwhile, Stolarz completed the first frame before Dennis Hildeby took over in the net. Given that he had let in three goals on 10 shots, the update from the team that Stolarz is injured came as a bit of a surprise. The 31-year-old former top Flyers prospect is the latest example of a late-blooming goaltender, tasked with holding things down for Toronto into the near future. Stolarz was extended for four more years at $3.75MM after a strong 2024-25, where he posted a .926 in 34 games in his first campaign wearing the blue and white.
Thankfully, Stolarz appears to have avoided a serious injury, as Toronto awaits the return of Joseph Woll from personal leave. Woll has been practicing with the team and appeared with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last weekend, but has no timetable to return yet. Cayden Primeau was a waiver casualty to Carolina last week after a short stint. Hildeby, currently serving as backup, has just eight NHL games under his belt.
The Maple Leafs are back in action on Thursday, hosting the Kings, and further details on the status of their superstar, Matthews, will be closely watched in the meantime.
Maple Leafs Sign Anthony Stolarz To Four-Year Extension
Sep. 29: Stolarz’s contract includes a 16-team no-trade clause that applies not only to the first year of his extension in 2026-27 but will retroactively apply to the last year of his current contract, giving him new protection for the 2025-26 campaign, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. That list will downgrade to a 10-team NTC from 2027-29 and further to a five-team NTC in 2029-30. PuckPedia has the full cash breakdown of the deal:
2026-27: $850K base salary + $4.225MM signing bonus = $5.075MM total
2027-28: $900K base salary + $2.91MM signing bonus = $3.81MM total
2028-29: $1.07MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus = $3.07MM total
2029-30: $1.045MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus = $3.045MM total
Sep. 28: It was previously reported that Anthony Stolarz and the Toronto Maple Leafs were getting very close to an extension, and now ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston have reported that the two parties have come to an agreement on a four-year, $3.75MM AAV contract extension. According to Weekes, the contract is “largely signing bonus money” although no firm breakdown has been reported at this time. The Maple Leafs have now officially announced the contract.
Two days ago, it was reported that Stolarz and his camp, led by RSG Hockey’s Allain Roy, were eyeing recent contracts signed by Karel Vejmelka and Kevin Lankinen as potential comparables – deals that each carry a five-year term and an AAV of at least $4.5MM. The contract reported today isn’t quite as lucrative as those deals, although the fact that it is, per Weekes, heavy in signing bonuses does help bridge the gap.
The path to this contract has been an odd one for Stolarz, who appears to have emerged as a starting-caliber netminder at the age of 31. Five years ago, Stolarz was an AHL starter in the Anaheim Ducks organization, and he established himself as an NHL backup there. He signed with the Florida Panthers for 2023-24 to be Sergei Bobrovsky‘s backup, and ended up putting forth a brilliant .925 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average in 27 games.
That performance in Florida, which ended with Stolarz watching from the bench as the Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, earned the netminder a two-year, $2.5MM AAV deal to join the Maple Leafs in a tandem with Joseph Woll. Although Woll started more games in 2024-25, Stolarz was the superior of the two netminders, playing to an excellent .926 save percentage and 21-8-3 record across 34 games.
While he hasn’t been tested in a heavy workload just yet, Stolarz has posted some of the league’s best numbers across the last two seasons. While it’s no easy task to sustain such brilliance across a heavier diet of starts, Stolarz certainly has the talent to do it. If he can end up taking a larger role in the crease in Toronto, perhaps playing something closer to a standard starting netminder’s number of games, he could easily provide an immense amount of surplus value to Toronto over the course of this contract.
The last time Stolarz played in more than 40 games was for the 2015-16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms – it’s been a while. So there is some risk to this contract, without question. But that level of risk is likely wholly acceptable to Toronto given Stolarz’s brilliance over the last two years, and the odds he provides them with surplus value appear to greatly outweigh the odds he underperforms this modest cap hit.
The key for the Maple Leafs will, unsurprisingly, be the playoffs: Stolarz led Toronto to a first-round victory over the Ottawa Senators, but an injury cost him the chance to compete in the second round. If he can find a way to be a reliable, go-to starter in playoff situations, this would be a home run of a contract for the Maple Leafs.
Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Canadian Notes: Stolarz, Leafs, Canucks
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.
East Notes: Stolarz, Mateychuk, Ruutu
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has made it known that he doesn’t want to work on a contract extension in-season, meaning the time to get a new deal in place is running out. Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports (video link) that the netminder’s camp is looking at recent five-year deals for Kevin Lankinen ($4.5MM) and Karel Vejmelka ($4.75MM) as potential comparables while Toronto’s preference is to do something shorter term. Stolarz is coming off a stellar season that saw him post a 2.14 GAA and a .926 SV% in 34 games but even though he’s 31, he has just 142 career NHL games under his belt and has never played more than those 34 games in a single season. That makes finding legitimate comparable players a little trickier but regardless of that, he’s well on his way to a big raise on the $2.5MM he’ll make this season.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk has been dealing with a groin issue since the start of training camp and has yet to suit up in the preseason. However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner skated today and if all goes well, he could be cleared for contact on Monday. Mateychuk got off to a strong start with AHL Cleveland last season and after being recalled, he was up the rest of the way, getting into 45 games where he had 13 points, earning a spot on the All-Rookie team.
- The Sabres have hired former NHL winger Jarkko Ruutu in a still-to-be-defined capacity, notes Helsingin Sanomat’s Juuso Savilaakso. Ruutu had been working with Columbus in a variety of roles since 2015 but his contract expired this summer. It’s likely that Buffalo’s new senior advisor Jarmo Kekalainen had a big role in this hiring, having been the one to originally hire Ruutu to begin his post-playing career a decade ago.
Maple Leaf Notes: Stolarz, Top-Six Forward, Domi, Dubé
For the past two weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs and netminder Anthony Stolarz have been negotiating a new contract extension. Unfortunately, nothing has materialized yet, although a few updates were revealed in today’s media availability.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Stolarz reiterated his hope and desire for a new deal, saying, “We’re hopeful to get to a good outcome… I’m confident, until proven otherwise, that we can find something that’ll work.” Still, despite the positive update, Stolarz wants to get a deal finished before the start of the regular season.
In an update from Chris Johnston of The Athletic, the 31-year-old netminder has made his intentions known that he’s unwilling to negotiate once the regular season has begun. Although the Maple Leafs want to maintain cap space for next offseason, it would be wise for them to strike a deal with Stolarz quickly.
Outside of some injury concerns, Stolarz has been remarkably consistent over the last two years with the Florida Panthers and Maple Leafs. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Stolarz has recorded a 37-15-5 record in 61 games with a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA.
Other notes from the Maple Leafs:
- Like many teams around the league, Toronto remains on the hunt for a top-six forward, according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. Per Koshan, General Manager Brad Treliving spoke of his pursuit, saying, “It’s not from lack of trying … you’re always looking to improve. League-wide, it was a slower summer.” The Maple Leafs have seemingly lost their opportunity on the free agent market, but could pursue a meaningful trade as training camp progresses.
- In the same vein, David Alter of The Hockey News reports that Max Domi is being considered to fill a top-six role for the time being, specifically on the right side next to Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. Unfortunately, they’ll have to wait some time to see Domi next to the pair, as Koshan reports he’s dealing with a lower-body injury.
- The last major news item regards an unrestricted free agent that the Maple Leafs won’t pursue. Despite being tied together from their time with the Calgary Flames, Treliving told Pagnotta that Toronto isn’t interested in signing Dillon Dubé, citing the recent Hockey Canada sexual assault trial as a primary factor.
Maple Leafs, Anthony Stolarz Holding Extension Talks
Sep. 12th: David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period offered an update today regarding the ongoing extension talks between Stolarz and the Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, Pagnotta indicated that no progress has been made to date, although both sides remain hopeful and are still committed to working something out.
Sep. 3rd: The Leafs have opened extension discussions with goaltender Anthony Stolarz, general manager Brad Treliving tells Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. He divulged that those talks have been ongoing “for some time” and that they’ve explored multiple options, presumably those with varying term.
Stolarz is a slam-dunk extension target, even with the younger and highly competent Joseph Woll as the other half of Toronto’s tandem. The 31-year-old has been one of the better backups in the league for some time before landing with the Leafs in free agency last year, finishing fifth in Vezina Trophy voting after posting a league-high .926 SV% in a career-high 33 starts and one relief appearance.
That strong play yielded a 21-8-3 record along with a 2.14 GAA and four shutouts. He was incredibly consistent over the course of the season, and by the numbers, no one in the league was more effective on a per-game basis. Among goalies with at least 15 appearances, no goalie saved more goals above expected per 60 minutes than Stolarz’s 0.779 mark, per MoneyPuck. That figure is a whole 0.144 clear of Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck‘s.
Still, that elite level of play combined with his outright lack of track record as a starter or even 1A option makes him something of a unicorn. Stolarz had never even started 25 games in a season entering last year, although his career numbers (.917 SV%, 2.55 GAA, 64-39-12 record in 142 GP) remain well above average since he made his NHL debut with the Flyers back in 2016.
His lack of ice time has been influenced by a variety of reasons, but none more pertinent than his injury history. He would have started the majority of his team’s games for the first time last year if not for midseason knee surgery – his second in the last three years – that kept him out for nearly two months. He began the postseason as Toronto’s starter and guided them to a six-game dispatching of the Senators in the first round, but sustained a concussion in Game 1 of their second-round loss against the Panthers, ending his season.
Yet that also paints a picture of Stolarz being an incredibly resilient goaltender, reaching his peak and establishing himself as an elite tandem option 13 years after Philadelphia took him in the second round of the 2012 draft. The 6’6″, 234-lb netminder has now posted a save percentage north of .920 in four of his last six NHL seasons, and his .926 combined SV% over the last two seasons leads everyone with at least 25 starts.
Treliving already made something of an insurance policy for himself by signing Woll to a three-year, $11MM extension as soon as he became eligible to ink one last year. That contract is only going into effect now, meaning Woll, who has a 39-25-2 record and .908 SV% over his first two seasons as a full-time NHL option, is locked in at a $3.67MM cap hit through 2027-28. It would make sense that Toronto opines for a three-year extension for Stolarz, keeping his injury history in mind, but staggering the expiry of his and Woll’s contracts.
His open-market value is hard to predict. Even after excelling in a backup role with the Panthers in 2023-24, he only landed a two-year deal with a $2.5MM cap hit with Toronto in free agency. AFP Analytics projects a two-year extension for Stolarz at just north of $4.25MM per season – that’s with the projected cap jump to $104MM – and the AAV likely wouldn’t differ much with an additional year of term.
That would still make Stolarz and Woll, the latter of whom is just entering his prime, one of the most cost-effective tandems in the league, especially when considering the market set by extensions for names like Logan Thompson ($5.85MM AAV) and Adin Hill ($6.25MM AAV) last season. Without a slam-dunk prospect in the system behind Woll and next summer’s premier UFA options (Sergei Bobrovsky, Filip Gustavsson, Jacob Markström) likely out of their price range, hedging their bets on Stolarz and Woll continuing to split the crease in a more cost-effective manner is likely their best path forward.