The Toronto Maple Leafs made their biggest splash this offseason when they signed one of the top free agents in the market in Sergei Bobrovsky. In doing so, both young goaltenders Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby became expendable and were both traded away this summer. As a result, it leaves Bobrovsky as the main man in the crease for the Leafs, with Anthony Stolarz as the trusted backup. But that setup, should the Maple Leafs actually be worried about their goaltending heading into next season?
After all, it sure isn’t too encouraging in the fact that both Bobrovsky and Stolarz are coming off one of their worst years in the NHL. For Bobrovsky, his 23 losses in 2025-26 with the Florida Panthers was the second-most in one season while his dismal .877 save percentage was actually the worst of his entire professional hockey career. As for Stolarz, not only was he plagued by injuries last year, he also struggled with consistency even when he was healthy. In total, the Maple Leafs goaltender posted just a 10-10-3 record with a disappointing 3.28 GAA and .893 save percentage last season.
The Maple Leafs' entire season depends on Bobrovsky and Stolarz
So how much can both goaltenders return to the form that we witnessed during their 2024-25 campaigns? Otherwise, if the numbers that they put up in 2025-26 was in fact more a reflection of how they will perform going forward, the Leafs could be in deep trouble even before the season has started.
But let’s assume both Bobrovsky and Stolarz could return to their elite levels. Even so, another big concern will be their health. For the former Panthers’ netminder, he will be turning 38 in September. How much his body will hold up after all the mileage that he has put into it from the 50+ starts per season and playoff appearances will be in question. As for Stolarz, he has spent his fair share of time on the sidelines nursing ailments in his two seasons with Toronto to date.
As a result, the Maple Leafs could be a couple bumps away from thrusting rookie Artur Akhtyamov into action as their main starting goalie. With only three games of NHL experience under his belt, that doesn’t exactly exude confidence for Leafs Nation if it does reach that point. So maybe Toronto should show just a bit more concern in the department than they have up until now.
So as much as it appears that goaltending will be a strength for the Leafs heading into 2026-27, they should at least have some viable backup plan ready in the event it doesn’t work exactly as expected. Otherwise, Maple Leafs fans can expect another disastrous year ahead that could resemble last year’s debacle.
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