The Toronto Maple Leafs, for possibly the first time in over a decade, have a healthy and competent goaltending tandem in between the pipes. Both Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll are reliable netminders who could be starters on any number of NHL teams, but they are both here sharing the crease in Toronto. And that internal competition doesn’t leak off the ice.
In a recent interview on the Toronto Sports Rush podcast, Stolarz was asked about his relationship with his tandem partner Woll. The veteran netminder went into detail about the entire goaltending depth chart and how the competition doesn’t mean much when it comes to the personal relationship when they’re not in practice or in games.
"We kind of understand that we all want the same thing and we're pushing each other, but we really don't let that affect us off the ice."
— Toronto Sports Rush (@TOSportsRush) August 15, 2025
Anthony Stolarz discusses his relationship with fellow Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll 🏒 pic.twitter.com/QnBc7Lv1q9
“It’s actually unbelievable,” Stolarz said about his relationship with Woll. “He’s a great guy. We actually have the same agent, Allain Roy, so we kind of got introduced before I signed last year. I got to camp and we just sort of hit it off right away. Me and him, and even Matt Murray and Hildeby last year – we have a great relationship amongst all of us. We understand we all want the same thing and we’re pushing each other but we don’t really let it affect us off the ice. You can go out to dinner with them, you can just hang out, walk around the mall on a day off with any one of those guys. So, it’s been a real treat having guys you’re able to get along with so well.”
While you don’t want players to get so relaxed that the positional competition completely dies, it is nice to see that it’s not some heated rivalry between all of the goalies because Stolarz is on top while the others are in a clear hierarchy.
Maybe the reason why there isn’t such a rush to try to overtake one another, is because there are clear paths to it for the players not in the starting role. The 31-year-old Stolarz is only under contract through next season and is an unrestricted free agent next summer. While the Maple Leafs could be trying to get him to an extension, with Woll signed through the 2027-28 season, there might not be a rush to do so.
So, when it comes to someone like 24-year-old Dennis Hildeby down in the AHL, he can see that if he plays adequately enough for the Toronto Marlies this season, he can easily win the backup job for next year and the Leafs wouldn’t need to hand Stolarz a massive pay raise. Even when it comes to the other goalies further down the depth chart like Artur Akhtyamov, he can win that job as well.
There certainly will be a lot of pushing each other on the ice this season through the Maple Leafs goaltenders.