Leafs' Anthony Stolarz takes big first step to eventual return

The Toronto Maple Leafs may be getting their starting goaltender back soon, as the team assigned Anthony Stolarz to the Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan.

The 32-year-old netminder had a terrible season before getting injured, racking up a 6-5-1 record, .884 SV% and 3.51 GAA. His play was a big reason why the team was near the bottom of the Eastern Conference for the first two months of the year, but fortunately, Dennis Hildeby and Joseph Woll stepped up and have guided this team back to a potential post-season run.

Hildeby and Woll have essentially the same statistics, but Woll's win record has been much better. In 19 games, Hildeby has a 2.84 GAA, .912 SV% but a bysmal 5-6-4 record. Comparatively, in 20 games, Woll has a 2.85 GAA, .910 SV% and 11-5-3 record.

Hildeby has played in more back-to-back situations which is always harder to find a win, so that would explain his record being much worse, but the fact that his stats have been well above-average is amazing. In November, it looked like the Leafs could be well on their way to a top-five draft pick, but instead, they may have found a potential goaltending duo for the future.

When Stolarz got injured, it never looked like anything bigger than a week-to-week issue as it was deemed an "upper-body injury" but he's all of a sudden has been out since November 11. Toronto loves to keep their injuries close to the chest, but the team recently revealed that the Edison, NJ native was dealing with a nerve issue.

Stolarz is returning to action, but how long will he be a Leaf?

With Stolarz ready to play again soon, this more than likely means that the team will send Hildeby back to the Marlies. Although the 24-year-old has played great and looks ready for full-time NHL duties, he's fully waiver exempt, so his contract is way easier to send down.

However, this doesn't mean that he will be gone forever. Hildeby is in the first of a three-year deal and more importantly is only making $841K. With Woll making $3.66M and Stolarz scheduled to make $3.75M next year, the Leafs could end up saving a ton of money if they moved on from Stolarz and promoted the "Hilde-Beast."

The Leafs have eight games between now and the February 3 Olympics break, so it'll be interesting to see if Stolarz plays before then. If the team decides to keep him on a conditioning loan until after that break, he'll get another three weeks of rest and practice, which may be a huge benefit as the Leafs don't play again until February 25.

The Toronto Marlies have three games on the road before returning home on January 31, so you want to see Stolarz in person, it may be a good idea to buy tickets and head to Coca-Cola Coliseum to check him out.