The Toronto Maple Leafs are a half-dozen games into the season, and already facing controversy. The comments by netminder Anthony Stolarz following the club’s overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night are well known by now.
As Elliotte Friedman and Kyla Bukauskas dissected in the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Stolarz called his team out mainly as a response to the frustration he’s faced for quite some time now.
That frustration stems from Stolarz becoming a target for opposing players crashing the net. The straw that broke the camel’s back came on Saturday night. The loss stung and opened the floodgates for the series of comments by Stolarz.
In particular, as Friedman and Bukauskas pointed out, this situation goes back to Game 1 of the Florida series last spring. The Maple Leafs, for all of their DNA change, continue to let other teams run over them, especially their goalie.
There has been no adequate response to the attacks on Stolarz. There hasn’t been a consistent effort to stand up for teammates. At least as far as this season goes, things have reached a boiling point in the Toronto clubhouse.
Perhaps this is the wakeup call that the Maple Leafs need. And that starts with standing up for Stolarz in the team’s next game on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Maple Leafs captain looking to deflect controversy
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews addressed Stolarz’s post-game comments by attempting to deflect the controversy. Mark Masters quoted Matthews as stating:
"We're a veteran group. We're all big boys. You don't need to beat around the bush. It's an easy conversation we all had & you just move on, close the door ... We gotta be better & we will be"
Auston Matthews says Leafs talked things out in wake of Anthony Stolarz comments:
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 20, 2025
"We're a veteran group. We're all big boys. You don't need to beat around the bush. It's an easy conversation we all had & you just move on, close the door ... We gotta be better & we will be"
Yes, the Maple Leafs are a veteran group. They have a limited number of young players. So, it makes sense to assume the team has addressed the matter internally and hopefully moved on from it.
Matthews did the right thing by attempting to deflect the controversy surrounding the situation. But then again, this situation is a problem that won’t go away until it does. The Maple Leafs must either protect Stolarz or make others pay.
Until the Leafs stand up for their goalie, either with their play or their fists, things won’t likely change. If anything, a larger issue may be brewing beneath the surface.
For now, this situation could be chalked up to frustration. We’ve all been there. Stress builds up, something happens, and everything boils over. Maple Leafs fans hope this is just Stolarz letting off steam.
But there might be something deeper there. If that’s the case, the team needs to address it before it festers.