Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Anthony Stolarz Excited to Start Fresh
The Toronto Maple Leafs newest goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, has experienced a roller coaster of emotions over the past two months.
He signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in free agency (July 1st) after winning a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers (June 24th) and attending the parade (June 30th). Stolarz recently joined Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Leafs Morning Take this past Thursday.
While listening to him speak about joining the Leafs, he sounded excited about making the most of this opportunity.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are betting on a goaltending tandem of Stolarz and Joseph Woll. There is not much experience between the two, as they've only played in 144 games combined in the NHL. Both have decent overall stats, so hopefully, the Leafs revamped defense will help them. Speaking of defense, Stolarz is joining fellow Panthers teammate, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Stolarz is familiar with Max Domi and Mitch Marner as well. He played with both in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights. Stolarz mentioned that a few of the Leafs, including Woll, reached out to him after the Leafs signed him. He also mentioned Simon Benoit and Jani Hakanpaa as other players he knows on the Leafs roster. Having a few guys on the team who you already know makes the transition easier.
I think fans should expect to see Leafs head coach Craig Berube switch between Woll and Stolarz until one of them grabs the number one job with outstanding play. Competing against each other will hopefully, make both of them better, which benefits the Leafs. Both will look to start 30+ games in a season for the first time in their careers. Monitoring them for signs of fatigue will be crucial, especially later in the season.
Toronto Maple Leafs New Goaltending Duo
Joseph Woll
Joseph Woll is the Leafs goaltender of the future.
He is in the final year of his current contract but has already signed a 3-year contract extension, which will start next season and pay him $3.66 million a season.
Woll posted a 12-11-1 record last season with a 2.94 GAA and a .907 SV%. (All stats from hockey-reference.com). (All Contract Information from puckpedia.com)
Anthony Stolarz
Anthony Stolarz is looking to be more than just a regular backup goaltender.
He is looking to play often and to establish himself. Last season, Stolarz posted a 16-7-2 record with two shutouts, a 2.03 GAA, and a .925 SV%.
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The experience of being on a cup-winning team could be helpful to the Leafs. He signed a two-year deal with the Leafs for $2.5 million a season.