The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in yet another troubling injury situation. Saturday night’s starting goalie, Anthony Stolarz, was forced to leave the game even before puck drop after taking a warm-up shot in the neck.
The shot didn’t seem to initially injure Stolarz. But he skated off to the bench and was removed for precautionary measures. At this point, there is no clarity on what the extent of the injury to Stolarz could be.
Nylander hits Stolarz in the throat in warmups and he’s been taken to a local hospital 😳 pic.twitter.com/w2KzxHA4bf
— Leafs Papi (@LeafsPapi_) March 21, 2026
In his place, Joseph Woll manned the crease for the second night in a row. The Leafs dropped a 5-2 decision to the Ottawa Senators.
This injury situation is just another turn of events that has left fans shaking their heads. While it’s hardly anyone’s fault that this situation happened, the fact of the matter is that the Leafs seem snakebitten this season.
Now, it remains to be seen what happens with Stolarz moving forward. He’s already missed significant time this season. So, Saturday night’s incident is just another situation that compounds on the overall challenging season for Toronto.
Maple Leafs should just shut down Stolarz for remainder of season
With about a dozen games or so left in the season, it might be best for the Leafs to just shut down Stolarz.
Unless Saturday night’s incident was minor, the Leafs should just avoid playing him for the rest of the year.
Luke Fox offered an encouraging update, suggesting that Stolarz’s situation might not be as concerning as initially thought.
Craig Berube says Anthony Stolarz is meeting the team at the plane tonight. Good sign.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) March 22, 2026
Still, you have to wonder if this isn’t the time to turn the crease over to Dennis Hildeby. The 24-year-old has played well this season. So, why not give him a chance to show what he can do?
There’s no sense in exposing Stolarz or Woll, for that matter. So, giving Hildeby a shot at getting the lion’s share of the remaining games this season could be a savvy move.
Once the Leafs' season ends, the team can figure out what they have in their three goalies moving forward. It will be interesting to see how much time, if any, Stolarz misses. That timeframe could give Hildeby one more shot to impress this season.