Toronto Maple Leafs News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

May 5, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) makes a toe save against the Florida Panthers during the second period of the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Importance of Maple Leafs Goalie Hits New Level

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Sep 26, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Anthony Stolarz has been a tremendous addition to the goaltending position of the Toronto Maple Leafs. After winning a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, Stolarz joined Toronto on a short-term deal and brought immediate stabilization alongside tandem-mate Joseph Woll.

His importance to the Maple Leafs has never been clearer as the organization approaches the start of the 2025-2026 regular season. The team announced that Woll would take a personal leave of absence beginning immediately. Attending to what the Leafs described as a “personal family matter,” Woll will be away from the team indefinitely and we wish him and his family all the best as they navigate this.

Without Woll, the tandem in Toronto goes from a huge strength to an even bigger question mark. The Leafs will turn to Dennis Hildeby as Stolarz’s backup to start the season, and while the organization is high on Hildeby’s skill, he’s a step back from what Woll brings between the pipes. The pressure is already on Toronto as they open the post-Mitch Marner era, and now that pressure grows even more with one starting-quality net minder on the NHL roster.

Stolarz isn’t thinking about that, however. As he told NHL.com, he is just hoping his teammate and friend is able to take care of everything at home and they will be ready to welcome him back whenever he returns.

”For him, just going to let him figure things out," he said. "We're going to miss him for sure. But knowing the person he is, he's going to be ready when he gets back, and we're going to welcome him with open arms.”

Price Just Went Up

It’s a terribly unfortunate situation for Woll, and I am making no claims that Stolarz intends to benefit from this. However, the folks that represent Stolarz are staring at a golden opportunity. The veteran puck-stopper could be the only number one goalie in Toronto for an undetermined amount of time. There’s no Joseph Woll to turn to and Hildeby isn’t ready to handle a bulk of the starts.

Stolarz is also in the final season of his current deal where he makes $2.5 million. That’s $1.1 million less than the average annual value (AAV) of Woll’s new contract he signed last season.

Woll has been strong and improved over the past few years, but Stolarz is the better net minder. He’s also there, and the Leafs would have no other legitimate options without the veteran around.

With all of that in mind, Stolarz’s agent knows that the leverage just shifted. Whatever they were asking for in salary and term immediately goes up as the need for him both now and over the long-term only increases as each day passes. Before long, the Leafs could be forced to majorly overspend on this new deal. Something they could have avoided by locking things up early this summer.

The Leafs are likely hoping that Woll is able to come back soon and help the organization, but that comes second to taking care of his personal family matter. When he does return, however, it might be after Stolarz inks a new deal which shows financially how important the veteran goaltender is to the organization.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: