Maple Leafs Activate Anthony Stolarz
4:23 p.m.: Stolarz has officially been activated from IR with Hildeby headed down, the team announced.
11:54 a.m.: The Maple Leafs will activate goaltender Anthony Stolarz from long-term injured reserve before tonight’s tilt against the Golden Knights, head coach Craig Berube confirmed to reporters (including Mark Masters of TSN). It will be his first start in over two months. The team sent Dennis Hildeby to AHL Toronto to open up a spot, per PuckPedia, but they’re still one over the roster limit as they’ve yet to make a corresponding move for Henry Thrun‘s recall this morning.
The last 32 games of the season provide Stolarz a chance to erase what was a disastrous early going. Entering training camp as the clear-cut No. 1 option for the first time, he landed a four-year, $15MM extension during training camp as a result. It was well-deserved – he backstopped the Leafs to a rare playoff series win last year and finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting while leading the league with a .926 SV% in 33 starts.
Injuries have consistently been an issue for the skilled 32-year-old, who averaged just 23 starts per season over the last four years. Tandem partner Joseph Woll started the year on personal leave, meaning Stolarz had a much higher-than-normal workload out of the gate. He immediately faltered, posting his worst stretch of hockey as an NHLer with a .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA in 13 starts. High-end goal support from the Leafs meant he still ended up with a 6-5-1 record, but his -8.3 goals saved above expected in such limited action were a noticeable stain on the track record of one of the league’s most consistently analytically sound netminders.
He’s spent the last few days with AHL Toronto on a conditioning assignment as he works his way back from his upper-body issue. He didn’t get into any game action with the Marlies, though.
Now, with Woll healthy, he and Stolarz can return to a more familiar split. Woll has had a fine year in his own right – his .911 SV% and two shutouts in 21 games certainly read as impressive, but he’s only accounted for 0.6 GSAx, according to MoneyPuck, suggesting there still might be some room for growth.
Unfortunately, Toronto’s roster crunch and Hildeby’s waiver-exempt status meant a three-goalie rotation would be unfeasible when Stolarz returned. With no roster limit, the Leafs likely would have opted to experiment with one. Hildeby, 24, has been one of the best stories of the season in Toronto. The 2022 fourth-round pick has spent virtually the entire season on the roster with Woll’s and Stolarz’s long-term absences.
He’s not just been an above-average third-string option; he’s arguably been the Leafs’ best netminder. His raw numbers are slightly under Woll’s, but he carries a wide advantage when accounting for team defense with 8.9 GSAx. Even his .910 SV% and 2.90 GAA in 19 appearances are strong stats for a largely unheralded rookie.
Nonetheless, he may need to wait until the roster limit disappears at the trade deadline to get his next NHL chance if Stolarz and Woll manage to stay healthy until then. Despite just signing a multi-year extension, Stolarz’s race to the finish could impact whether Toronto aims to shop him over the summer in order to open up a spot for the younger, cheaper Hildeby next season.
Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images.
Maple Leafs Recall Henry Thrun
1:41 p.m.: Matt Benning was returned to AHL Toronto in the corresponding move for Thrun’s recall, per the NHL’s media site. Swapping the two clears $150K in cap space, an important factor in giving the Leafs the flexibility to activate Anthony Stolarz from long-term injured reserve today as well.
9:38 a.m.: According to a team announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenseman Henry Thrun from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The transaction coincides with recent injuries to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Carlo.
Still, Thrun’s recall may be only a precaution. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reported that both Ekman-Larsson and Carlo were on the ice for the team’s practice. Toronto may have avoided longer-term injuries to one or both of the blue liners. Regardless, given that their active roster is full, the Maple Leafs will have to make a corresponding roster move at some point today.
Meanwhile, Thrun, 24, is in his first year with the Maple Leafs organization. Toronto acquired him this past summer in a trade that sent Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks. He’s earning $1MM this season and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
After serving consistently with the Sharks, Thrun has primarily played in the AHL this season. He’s been a boon to AHL Toronto, scoring three goals and 14 points in 28 games with a -2 rating. His scoring output doesn’t necessarily jump off the page, but it’s good for second on the team among defensemen.
Given his place on the team’s depth chart, Thrun has only featured in a few games for the Maple Leafs this season. At the time of writing, he has gone scoreless in four contests, producing a -1 rating while averaging 14:52 of ice time per game.
Latest On Maple Leafs’ Defense
In last night’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Toronto Maple Leafs suffered another serious blow on defense, losing Oliver Ekman-Larsson partway through the game to a lower-body injury. Earlier today, on TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun posited that Ekman-Larsson is expected to miss some time. Still, there’s no concern about his availability for Team Sweden at the Olympics.
As bad as it is to lose your highest-scoring defenseman, that’s not the only injury Toronto’s defensive core suffered last night. According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, there is concern from the Maple Leafs that Brandon Carlo is also suffering from an ailment. Carlo only recently returned from a foot injury that cost him two months of the 2025-26 campaign.
Factoring in the long-term groin injury to Chris Tanev, Toronto may be without 75% of the top-four of their defensive core for the foreseeable future. Few teams would be able to absorb that many losses, and it couldn’t come at a worse time for the Maple Leafs, who currently sit one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Still, although the team has yet to provide an update on the status of Ekman-Larsson or Carlo, LeBrun indicated on Insider Trading that the new injuries have motivated the Maple Leafs to increase their efforts to acquire a defenseman.
LeBrun specifically mentioned Dougie Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils and Luke Schenn of the Winnipeg Jets as likely options. Each defenseman has been linked to the Maple Leafs rather significantly over the last few weeks.
Still, there are a few reasons for pause. It’s not to suggest that Toronto couldn’t use an outside acquisition to bolster its defensive core, but desperation typically leads to overpayment. That’s not something the Maple Leafs can afford to do with so little prospect and draft capital.
Furthermore, the possibility of a Hamilton trade in the near future has taken a steep decline over the last few days. New Jersey recently lost defenseman Luke Hughes for the next month or more with a shoulder separation, opening a spot in the top four for Hamilton. As long as Hughes remains out, the Devils will be less inclined to move Hamilton despite the perceived benefits of doing so.
Meanwhile, it’s not obvious that Schenn would be a significant upgrade over Toronto’s other options. He’s had a disappointing year with the Jets, scoring one goal and six points in 35 games, averaging 13:51 of ice time per game. Furthermore, his defensive metrics have declined, showing a CorsiFor% of 45.2% and an on-ice SV% of 89.2% at even strength.
It’s clear that the Maple Leafs will need to bring in some help at any rate. Toronto has seven more games until the upcoming Olympic break, and their record over that stretch could have significant ramifications for the rest of the season.
Bobby McMann Could Receive As Much As $5MM AAV On Extension
- Toronto Maple Leafs forward Bobby McMann has been a real developmental success story for the organization, rising from undrafted Colgate University product and ECHLer to NHL 20-goal scorer. The hard-working 29-year-old has 15 goals and 25 points this season, and is scoring at a 25-goal, 42-point 82-game scoring pace. He’s a pending UFA, and has lined himself up to receive a significant pay raise. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported yesterday that the Maple Leafs are exploring the possibility of signing McMann to an extension, and he speculated that the price tag on McMann could reach as high as $5MM per year.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Leaves Mid-Game Due To Injury
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced mid-game that Oliver Ekman-Larsson won’t return due to a lower-body injury.
Options such as Mattias Ekholm, Hampus Lindholm, and Simon Edvisson are thought to be replacements for Brodin if needed, and possibly, another of the trio could come along to Milan if Ekman-Larsson will miss time. Both Sweden and the Maple Leafs will hope such is not the case. Toronto is back in action on Friday, hosting Vegas.
Maple Leafs, Chris Tanev Haven't Decided On Surgery
- A few weeks ago, David Alter of The Hockey News reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs and defenseman Chris Tanev have not decided upon surgery to repair his groin injury. According to Nick Barden of The Hockey News, that remains the status quo. Barden relayed a quote from head coach Craig Berube saying, “He’s still working through things. He hasn’t got surgery yet. We’re still working through things.” Berube went on to add that Tanev is the one who is hesitant about surgery, not the Maple Leafs.
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Maple Leafs Assign Anthony Stolarz To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The Toronto Maple Leafs are nearing the return of one of their netminders. The Maple Leafs announced that they’ve assigned Anthony Stolarz to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan.
Assuming that Toronto will want Stolarz to participate in at least one AHL contest before activating him from the injured reserve, he’ll likely only miss two more games for the Maple Leafs. The Marlies don’t play again until Friday, whereas the Maple Leafs have two games through Friday evening.
If he’s activated and recalled after the Marlies’ game on Friday night, it’ll mark the end of a 34-game absence for Stolarz. The veteran netminder has missed over two months of action for the Maple Leafs after suffering an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins on November 11th.
There’s reason to believe that Stolarz had been dealing with the injury prior to being placed on the injured reserve in November. He had a shaky start to the 2025-26 campaign, managing a 6-5-1 record in 13 games with a .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA. That’s a monumental drop-off from how he performed from 2023 to 2025, securing a 37-15-5 record in 61 games with a .926 SV% and 2.10 GAA split between the Florida Panthers and Maple Leafs.
Unfortunately, since it’s unlikely that Toronto carries three netminders on their active roster, Stolarz’s return is bad news for Dennis Hildeby. The second-year netminder has been a boon to the Maple Leafs this season, managing a 5-6-4 record in 19 games with a .910 SV% and 2.90 GAA. Additionally, according to Hockey Reference, he’s earned a 6.7 Goals Saved Above Average.
Still, Hildeby is exempt from waivers, meaning the Maple Leafs can easily reassign him to AHL Toronto once prompted. Given that Stolarz and fellow netminder Joseph Woll are signed through the next several years, Hildeby will remain in the unenviable position of again waiting for an injury to happen to receive another opportunity at the NHL level.
Maple Leafs Recall Jacob Quillan
The Maple Leafs announced they’ve added forward Jacob Quillan back to the NHL roster. They’ll need to make a corresponding move to open a spot on the active roster. That could be yet another injured reserve placement for William Nylander, who’s already missed one game after reaggravating his lower-body injury and won’t be in the lineup tonight, either.
Quillan gives the Leafs some extra forward depth amid yet another major injury concern up front – this time concerning top left-winger Matthew Knies. He’s missed the last couple of skates due to maintenance, but did not take part in this morning’s gameday skate preceding tonight’s matchup with the Wild, per David Alter of The Hockey News. If he’s unavailable, Quillan would be needed in the lineup to give the Leafs 12 healthy forwards.
It’s the third NHL stint this season for the 23-year-old Quillan. Across the past two seasons, the undrafted free agent pickup out of Quinnipiac had logged his first four big-league appearances with a +2 rating but is still looking for his first NHL point. The 6’0″, 205-lb pivot has been quite productive in the minors, though. That’s especially true this season, boasting an 8-19–27 scoring line in 28 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
His waiver-exempt status, plus his strong AHL showing, means Quillan will continue being Toronto’s most frequented call-up option down the stretch. A pending restricted free agent, it won’t be much of a surprise if he finds his way onto the Leafs’ opening night roster next fall.
The Maple Leafs Are At A Crossroads
The Maple Leafs are on a heater at the moment, and while it’s made some fans forget about their awful stretch of play to start the season, it was clear that the team was going through something, and it’s hard to put a name to it. Some might call it an identity crisis: the team is full of offensive talent yet chooses to play low-risk, safe hockey.
Others might say it’s the apparent outcome of losing Mitch Marner and not replacing him with another offensive star. Or maybe it was the injuries, which have tested the team’s depth. Whatever it was, Toronto is facing a crossroads, and the future of the roster is murky.
The team struggled to get off to a good start, but has been much better as of late. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, as the team has been unpredictable up to this point in the season.
Even though they are finally winning, many Leafs fans seem indifferent as the team sits outside of a playoff spot. Toronto fans could be fatigued by a team that always seems to let them down when games matter most, or many folks in Ontario who are Maple Leafs fans may have had their interests shift after the magical run MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays went on just a few months ago. Whatever it is, the Maple Leafs – the organization and roster – likely won’t go on for the rest of the season the way they are, which means something has to give.
Toronto is 7-1-2 in its last 10 games and has a positive goal differential on the year. But the results of late have been more of the same. They are great at home and terrible on the road, play great offense and below-average defense, and don’t play fast or tough enough. The Maple Leafs are the perfect candidate to make a shake-up move to change their fortunes, but what would that kind of move even look like?
Many fans would have liked to see Craig Berube fired before their most recent hot streak, but he is a highly respected Stanley Cup-winning coach who knows how to win. Would that kind of move change the fortunes of the Maple Leafs?
It could. It has happened before to other talented teams lumbering through mediocre seasons despite gifted rosters. The 2009 and 2016 Penguins come to mind as two examples of teams that fired their coach midseason and went on to win the Stanley Cup. More recently, the Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo in 2018, only to go on and win the Stanley Cup in 2019 with a new coach behind the bench – Berube.
But is firing Berube really the right move? It probably never was, and it definitely isn’t after their most recent stretch of play, especially given that the coaching market isn’t exactly ripe with great options for Toronto, and they would most likely be recycling a less-than-desirable option through Toronto, which probably makes it the wrong move.
What about a big trade? Well, that’s another issue for Toronto. They don’t have much to trade to acquire a player who can help now. Their prospect system is among the worst in the league, and they have just three picks in this year’s draft, none of which are in the first two rounds. They also don’t have a first-round pick in 2027 or a third-rounder.
This is before we even get to cap space, which they have very little of. Toronto could do some cap gymnastics, but at the moment, they have less than $3.4MM available at the deadline (per PuckPedia), which likely makes any significant move out of the question. Plus, do you want to move out more futures for short-term rentals when you don’t even know if this group is a playoff team?
The following month will say a lot about the Maple Leafs. If they continue to hover outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, they are probably best off seeing if they can move their UFAs and punt on this season. But if they continue the current run they are on, that will change the calculus going forward and put any coaching change talk among the fanbase to bed.
How can Toronto turn the corner and make sure it remains a consistent team? Simply put, they need to figure out which style of play maximizes the talent on their roster. Scott Laughton has been a black hole offensively since arriving in Toronto late last season, with just six goals and two assists in 30 games this year.
The same could be said for Calle Jarnkrok, who was once a consistent 30-to-40-point player but has just six goals in 29 games this season. They also need to figure out how to manage injuries to key players, including defenseman Chris Tanev and goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
It’s never easy to replace top players; however, teams find ways to do it and tread water until their players return. The Penguins faced a stretch this season without their entire second line, yet they remained in the playoff hunt despite arguably having a worse roster than the Maple Leafs. Teams rely on structure, work ethic and a next-man-up philosophy to overcome injuries, and Toronto needs to dig deep to do the same.
Lastly, there is the Marner issue, and it is perhaps the biggest. Fans had a close-up last night of Marner in Vegas’ overtime win over the Maple Leafs. Toronto never replaced Marner, and to be honest, they never could.
Stars leave massive holes in rosters when they depart, but good management groups find ways to plug the gaps, and the Maple Leafs haven’t done that. Some fans and pundits have suggested Toronto make a move for Stars forward Jason Robertson, but that move doesn’t have legs for many of the reasons previously stated (lack of cap space, lack of assets, etc.). But there are players out there that Toronto could look at as potential assets to add before the trade deadline, should they be in the hunt for a playoff spot.
At this stage of their contention window, the Maple Leafs can ill afford to finish in the middle and miss the playoffs entirely, losing their first-round pick. The best course for them is to make the postseason this year and try to make a run, but if they are going to miss the playoffs, it would likely be better to finish low enough in the standings to get a top 5 pick, retain their first-round pick for this season, and retool in the summer. This situation would push them to give up first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, but the hope would be that they could get a top prospect this year who could make an immediate NHL impact.
Stolarz Has Been Dealing With Nerve Issue, Could Return During Homestand
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has missed more than two months with an upper-body injury with little known beyond that. The netminder told reporters yesterday (video link) that he has been dealing with a nerve issue, one that simply needed time to heal but no one knew at the time how long he’d be out for. Stolarz was a top performer last season which earned him a four-year, $15MM extension in training camp. However, he struggled mightily before being shut down, posting a 3.51 GAA and a .884 SV% in 13 starts. He indicated that he still needs to get into a few practices with the team before he could potentially return which could put him in line to see game action at some point toward the back of their upcoming five-game homestand.