Toronto Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz Could Be Team X-Factor This Season – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to make the playoffs again this season, but this time they would like to have more success than they have had in recent campaigns. With their breakout season featuring the additions to their blue line of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, their goal of pushing for their first Stanley Cup since 1967 is clear. They also went out and bolstered their goaltending depth by signing Anthony Stolarz, who was part of the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers, hoping to address one of their biggest problems heading into the new campaign.

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Although Stolarz wasn’t the first point guard as the Panthers made a push for a championship, he played well enough to earn a raise in his new contract with the Maple Leafs. At 30 years old, Stolarz only has 108 games under his belt but has posted an impressive 2.69 goals-against-average (GAA) and .915 save percentage (SV%) in 43 wins. Last season, he posted a 2.03 GAA and .925 SV% through 27 games with 16 wins and two shutouts. Despite his lack of experience, the Maple Leafs took a chance on Stlarz with a two-year contract worth $2.5 million per year.

With Joseph Woll likely coming into the new season as a starter, adding a solid backup like Stlarz was a smart decision. Woll has had injury issues the last few seasons, and it looks like goaltending injuries are following the Maple Leafs. Matt Murray has had major injury issues in the past, and the departed Ilya Samsonov has had some issues during the 2024 season, so signing another goaltender makes a lot of sense.

Stolarz Has Proved His Worth, But The Maple Leafs’ Scoring History Is Shaky

The Maple Leafs have had a difficult history of goaltending issues without injuries. Jack Campbell left to join the Edmonton Oilers in a big five-year contract that failed miserably, as he slid down their depth chart, and was finally bought out after two seasons where he didn’t find his game, and now he’s fighting for a championship. job with the Detroit Red Wings. Petr Mrazek was a promising addition for the 2021-22 season, but his inconsistency forced the Maple Leafs to make a trade after posting a 3.34 GAA and .888 SV% in 20 games.

In that same season, the Maple Leafs went through five different goaltenders who played at least one game and couldn’t land a solid starter. The 2022-23 season was more of the same – although Samsonov managed to play well enough to play more than half of their games, they still went through the five-goal range. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Maple Leafs have Woll, Stolarz, and Murray on their goaltending depth chart as they look to finally find a strong tandem to make the playoffs and push to end their Stanley Cup drought. Cup.

One of the biggest problems for the Maple Leafs has been scoring. Now they’ve solved their deep defensive issues, and they seem to have the deepest defense they’ve had in a long time. While they may have resolved their biggest question mark heading into the season, there is still significant risk associated with Woll and Stolarz as a tandem. Murray may be able to play his way into the tandem as his experience of winning a Stanley Cup could be helpful when the postseason begins, but that’s why Stolarz could be the X-factor this season. If Stolarz can become the starting goaltender, the Maple Leafs may finally be able to break all the curses and make a strong playoff push rather than endure another disappointing season.