Toronto Maple Leafs News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)

Stolarz’s Criticism Explains Maple Leafs’ Lack of Playoff Success

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Rupert McDonald | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 9:55 AM ET

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been a big talking point amongst media and fans over the last 24 hours. The 31-year-old was heated for several reasons on Saturday night. Not only did his team fall by a 4-3 overtime final to the Seattle Kraken, but the veteran netminder also had several Kraken forwards collide with him throughout the game. It’s a situation that’s happened far too often with the Leafs’ number-one goalie as of late, which really brought out his frustration.

Though Stolarz was undoubtedly frustrated over the contact he has been taking as of late, it was clear that there is some anger over the way his team is performing, as well. When speaking to reporters postgame, he made several comments in which he called his teammates out.

Stolarz Completely Right in His Assessment

It’s very rare you hear a player call out his team the way Stolarz did on Saturday. It was quite obvious that he was frustrated and everything just came out. While it may create a slightly awkward dynamic in the dressing room in the immediate future, it’s something that may actually benefit this Maple Leafs team, as he was bang-on in his assessment.

“Maybe we can take a page out of their book and start getting to the net,” Stolarz told reporters postgame. “I mean, for us, we like to go low to high and shoot. But for their goalie, it’s like playing catch in the yard. He’s seeing everything.”

Stolarz wasn’t done there, either. Though he’s rather inexperienced at the NHL level, particularly as a starting goalie, he does have a Stanley Cup ring. In other words, he knows what it takes to have success, and it’s clear he isn’t seeing that with his team, particularly some of its best players. He had no issue whatsoever calling out William Nylander on what he felt was a poor effort that led to the overtime winner from Josh Mahura.

“I mean, a lot of guys have been here for a while. You know, overtime, you can’t let someone beat you up the ice there,” Stolarz continued. “Gets a clear-cut breakaway. I mean, minute left, you want to be on the ice in that situation, you got to work hard. Got to work back. And it cost us a point there.”

Maple Leafs Needed Someone to Say This Publicly

Though it was unusual to hear Stolarz call out his team the way he did, you won’t find many, if any Maple Leafs fans who are upset about it. What he said on Saturday night is what fans have been saying about this team for several years. In a sense, hearing a player say it publicly is somewhat refreshing, and could finally see this team change for the better.

Though fans have picked apart this team’s tenacity and willingness to really dig in and play hard, those comments and detractors haven’t seemed to mean much to the players, particularly the core group, who haven’t changed a single thing. Now that these comments have been made public by a teammate, however, they may finally feel a need to change the way in which they play.

While the likes of Nylander and Auston Matthews have no issue piling up points in the regular season, there are other parts of their game that explain why the Maple Leafs continue to struggle in the playoffs. They simply lack the intensity and will to really get involved in the difficult parts of the game, and that rubs off on others when they are supposed to be leaders. It will be fascinating to see how they respond to these comments from Stolarz, ones which have been widely discussed throughout hockey circles over the years.