The Toronto Maple Leafs need all the help they can get in between the pipes as both Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz are off to not very good start this season. So, they've concocted an interesting strategy that they're going to try out this week.
On Monday morning, the Leafs announced that they have recalled goaltender prospect Artur Akhtyamov in a somewhat surprising move. Neither of the Leafs netminders were listed as injured, and there was not an obvious moment where they suffered some sort of injury, so many were left a little confused at the move.
Why the Leafs called up Artur Akhtyamov and their new strategy
That is until Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed the Leafs' plans for Akhtyamov and why exactly this move ended up happening.
Akhtyamov will back up Bobrovsky tonight (SJ) & Stolarz (CLB) tomorrow
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 19, 2026
Some game management with the goalies https://t.co/0WwCzmBi6K
That makes more sense and immediately becomes super interesting. Instead of the Leafs going with a traditional two-goalie approach and that rotation, they're giving the full night off for one of their starters in some form of load management.
Akhtyamov will be the backup for both Monday's game against the Sharks, supporting Bobrovsky, and then the 24-year-old netminder will also be on the bench for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jackets. This gives Stolarz some major rest for Monday, and Bobrovsky some major rest on Wednesday.
This gives both regular goalies a chance to breathe and hopefully recover from what has been a hectic start to the season. Both Bobrovsky and Stolarz are not having fantastic starts. The better of the two in Bobrovsky boasts a below-average .891 save percentage and a 3.29 goals against average. Meanwhile Stolarz is sporting a miserable .875 save percentage and a 3.32 goals against average. Clearly, the Leafs need them both to take a step back and reset a little bit.
Akhtyamov can be the perfect third-string goalie
Thankfully, Akhtyamov is a luxury for the Leafs. The 24-year-old Russian netminder has not been stellar in the three NHL games he played in last season, earning a .877 save percentage and 0-2-0 record, but he stock rose incredibly high when he pulled the Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup championship with a .923 save percentage through 22 playoff games.
He could very well be an NHL-level backup for some other teams, but the Leafs didn't want to take that risk and instead of two injury-prone and not-very-good netminders instead. And now, they're in this situation where they need him to be their backup to give one of the old guys some rest.
The Marlies don't play until Wednesday against the Hamilton Hammers at home, so Akhtyamov will miss at least one game with the Marlies.
We'll see if this three-goalie rotation is something Toronto is going to further explore.
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