En route to backstopping the Florida Panthers to a Stanley Cup last season, Sergei Bobrovsky got more than his fair share of the shine. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner led the league in shutouts, got named to the all-star team and was a finalist for yet another Vezina.
Which is part of the reason why Anthony Stolarz, despite putting up stellar numbers as Florida鈥檚 ever-dependable backup, didn鈥檛 get much attention.
Stolarz is getting it now, of course. Twelve starts into his tenure as a Maple Leaf, he has already emerged as Toronto鈥檚 top goaltender while leading the league in save percentage with a stellar .927 mark.
鈥淲e knew we had a hidden gem with him last year in Florida,鈥 said Steven Lorentz, a Panther last season who, like Stolarz, is now a Leaf. 鈥淓ven before last year, when (Stolarz) was with Anaheim, he robbed me a few times. And I was like, 鈥榃ho is this guy?鈥 He鈥檚 just a guy who goes unnoticed.鈥
Assessing the Leafs at the 20-game mark, heading into a rare Sunday night home game against the Utah Hockey Club, there are plenty of developments worth noting. The defensive corps has been upgraded considerably thanks to the veteran additions of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Those improvements combined with elite goaltending and a commitment to head coach Craig Berube鈥檚 more direct, less dangly style of play help explain why the Leafs rank聽 sixth in goals against per game聽鈥 up from last season鈥檚 dismal 21st.
We might never know exactly what ailment led the Leafs captain to seek treatment in Germany. But insisting Matthews is 鈥渄ay-to-day鈥 doesn’t add up.
We might never know exactly what ailment led the Leafs captain to seek treatment in Germany. But insisting Matthews is 鈥渄ay-to-day鈥 doesn’t add up.
And if the Leafs began the season thin up聽the middle, as evidenced by an early-season experiment with William Nylander at centre, there鈥檚 no denying their overall depth at forward. It says something that they are 6-1 in their most recent seven games, all of which have been played without team captain Auston Matthews. This week, Matthews continued his recovery from an undisclosed upper-body injury by seeking treatment in Munich, Germany before a potential return to the lineup during next week鈥檚 two-game road trip to Florida.
Matthews is the highest profile name on a lengthy list of sidelined forwards, among them Max Pacorietty, Max Domi, Matthew Knies, David K盲mpf, Calle J盲rnkrok and Ryan Reaves. On Friday, the聽 Leafs also聽signed Alex Nylander,聽younger brother of their leading goal scorer, to an NHL contract. For all the injury-induced lineup churn, the Leafs entered Friday leading the Atlantic Division at 12-6-2, on pace for 106 points.
It’s only 20 games, but perhaps the starkest year-over-year improvement has come in the blue paint.
A season ago, after all, goaltending was a liability. 海角社区官网ranked 24th in team save percentage during the regular season in 2023-24 thanks to the inconsistent performance of Ilya Samsonov and an injury-marred campaign from Joseph Woll that necessitated 19 starts from journeyman Martin Jones.
With Matthew Knies added to injured reserve, Craig Berube’s Leafs have had to adjust on the fly. It’s working.
With Matthew Knies added to injured reserve, Craig Berube’s Leafs have had to adjust on the fly. It’s working.
So far this season, even as an early-season injury has limited Woll to six starts and seen AHLer Dennis Hildeby start twice, the Leafs ranked fifth in聽 save percentage heading into Friday. That鈥檚 primarily thanks to the early brilliance of Stolarz, who ranked fourth聽 in goals saved above expected.
If there鈥檚 beauty in those statistics, for a capped-out team like the聽 Leafs who鈥檝e long struggled to fill out their roster beyond the vaunted Core Four, there is even more to admire in the underlying economics. Stolarz, who signed a two-year deal worth an annual average of $2.5 million (U.S.) in the summertime, ranks 37th among goaltenders in cap hit this season. Woll, at $766,667, ranks 73rd. Woll, mind you, will get more expensive next season, when his three-year extension kicks in at an annual聽 hit of $3.67 million.
In a league where the top five paid active goaltenders are making $8.25 million or more聽鈥 with Bobrovsky commanding a league-topping $10 million聽鈥 that adds up to enviable value for 海角社区官网general manager Brad Treliving.
We had our most contentious conversation in four years of the “Real Kyper and Bourne Show” on Monday. Of course, it was about Mitch Marner.
We had our most contentious conversation in four years of the “Real Kyper and Bourne Show” on Monday. Of course, it was about Mitch Marner.
Overpaying for underperformance in net is an occupational hazard among NHL executives. Leafs goaltenders of the recent past offer cautionary tales to that effect. It was only a few years ago that Jack Campbell had the look of a permanent solution. But it hasn鈥檛 gone well since Campbell was lured to Edmonton with a five-year deal worth an annual $5 million in the summer of 2022. Bought out by Edmonton this past off-season, Campbell was destined to begin this season with Detroit鈥檚 AHL affiliate before he made a detour into the NHL-NHLPA player assistance program.
And while there are those who鈥檝e suggested the Leafs ought to regret Frederik Andersen鈥檚 2021 departure to Carolina聽鈥 this after a five-year stretch that saw the Dane average a dependable 53 starts a season as a Leaf聽鈥 he has often struggled to stay healthy since. Last season, he was limited to 16 starts on account of a scary blood-clotting issue. This week, it was announced he鈥檒l be out an estimated eight weeks recovering from knee surgery.
Injuries happen, and Woll鈥檚 checkered health history is a concern. But for now the Leafs look as though they鈥檝e found a winning combination in the crease at an awfully attractive price, albeit 20 games in and a marathon to come.
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