Anthony Stolarz reveals the reason he chose to sign with the Maple Leafs

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Daniel Lucente
August 6, 2024 (8:34)

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Anthony Stolarz is fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers, but decided to abandon the team and join the Leafs. He wants a ton more playing time.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had two visions this off-season, and that was to add some quality defensemen as well as solidify the goaltender that would be guarding the net next season, and it appears they have successfully done that with some major acquisitions.

The biggest one of all was goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who is coming off a career year and a Stanley Cup championship in Florida with the Panthers, despite not having seen much ice time as he was the backup to superstar Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky was a fantastic goalie for the Panthers last season. He played in 58 regular season games for the team, winning 36 of them and finished with a 2.37 GAA and a .915 save %. He further improved on his numbers in the playoffs, as he won all 16 games for the team to help them capture the Stanley Cup, and during his magical run, he posted a GAA of 2.32 and a .906 save %.

The 30-year-old Stolarz has opened up in a recent interview, explaining that he signed with the team for the potential of having more playing time with the Leafs while also competing for a Stanley Cup once again. All of this motivated him to end up coming to the city of Toronto.

"I just thought that Toronto was the best fit just in terms of an opportunity," Stolarz explained. "A team that is a very strong contender. And, you know, obviously going to a city like Toronto, it's something I'm looking forward to and I'm really excited for it."

GM of the Leafs Brad Treliving is very fond of Stolarz, and seems to be excited that he will have the opportunity in Toronto to see game action a lot more than he did in Florida. Treliving is excited to bring in a guy that had tremendous playoff and championship experience, which is exactly what the Leafs need.

"If you look at his career, he's played as a backup to some top-level goaltending, so there wasn't a lot of net there," Treliving explained shortly after the deal was signed. "There wasn't going to be a lot of starts. He's big, he's athletic. I think goaltenders as we all know they take some time to mature in their game. I think he's done that.

Anthony Stolarz took to the ice 27 times with the Florida Panthers last season, where he managed to win 16 games, and had a spectacular GAA of 2.03 and a stellar save % of .925. If he is able to continue to have numbers like that with the Leafs, while possibly doubling the amount of games he plays in compared to last season, the Leafs are going to go very far and possibly make a very deep playoff run.

Only time will tell whether or not Stolarz will fit in and be able to perform in Toronto, however if we base it off of last year's stats, Leafs fans should have nothing to worry about.

Source: House of Hockey
Veteran Anthony Stolarz opens up on his decision to sign with the Maple Leafs

Source: HockeyDB
Sergei Bobrovsky Stats

Source: HockeyDB
Anthony Stolarz Stats