Reporter reveals concerning stats for Maple Leafs new goalie Anthony Stolarz

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Tyler Ball
July 28, 2024 (5:29 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs signed goaltender Anthony Stolarz this summer and now a new report has revealed they might have made a major mistake.

The Toronto Maple Leafs set off this season hoping to improve their defense and goaltending situation. In pursuit of that goal, the Maple Leafs signed Stanley Cup Champion goaltender Anthony Stolarz from the Florida Panthers.

The newest member of the Buds: Anthony Stolarz

In his time with the Florida Panthers Anthony Stolarz was exceptional as the backup goalie to Sergei Bobrovsky. In 27 appearances with the Florida Panthers Anthony Stolarz had a 2.03 goals against average and a 0.925 save percentage. Despite these incredible stats from a season ago one source believes the Maple Leafs are making a mistake by signing Anthony Stolarz.

Daily Faceoff reporter reveals a major flaw with Maple Leafs Anthony Stolarz

Since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs many fans have looked at the success that Anthony Stolarz had with the Florida Panthers and been over the moon about the signing. However, today Scott Maxwell tried to bring down expectations for Anthony Stolarz. His skepticism comes from Anthony Stolarz's severe lack of success before signing with the Florida Panthers.

Stolarz has only established a consistent backup role for himself in the past few seasons, but in 2023-24, he was arguably the best backup goaltender in the league, with the second-best save percentage among goalies with at least 20 games played and the seventh-best GSAx in the league. However, with a career .915 SV%, it's tough to expect him to repeat that for next season. He did have an .899 SV% the year prior, so last season may have been the positive regression. But I'd expect him to come back down to Earth next season, especially behind a Toronto Maple Leafs team that will probably not be as good defensively as the Panthers were last year, even with their upgrades on the blueline.
-Maxwell on Stolarz

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are a mess defensively again likely they were last season Anthony Stolarz could face major regression to his stats. If he does regress the Maple Leafs would once again be in a situation where they cannot find a consistent pair for Joseph Woll.

This upcoming season the Toronto Maple Leafs have a lot to prove and expectations that are higher than ever. To meet those expectations their defense and goaltending will have to be better. In line with this Anthony Stolarz will need to have another big season and keep his play at its peak.

Source: HockeyDB
Anthony Stolarz Statistics

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Do you think Anthony Stolarz's play will drop off back to his lack of success from before his time with the Florida Panthers?
Yes	137	35.2 %
No	252	64.8 %
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