Sam Reinhart, who won a Stanley Cup with new Leaf Anthony Stolarz, says the career backup “has a good chance to be that goalie for that organization that they’ve needed.”

LAS VEGAS — After losing Ilya Samsonov to free agency, the Toronto Maple Leafs will head into the season with two backups who have combined to play fewer than 150 career NHL games. 

It is not the kind of goaltending scenario you would expect of a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

However, Sam Reinhart, who won a Cup last year with the Florida Panthers, believes the Leafs have someone capable of becoming a legitimate No. 1 goalie — and it’s not necessarily the one with the bigger cap hit as of 2025-26.

While Joseph Woll might have the inside track to the starter’s position, Reinhart said free agent pickup Anthony Stolarz “has a good chance to be that goalie for that organization that they’ve needed.” 

The Leafs, who have more question marks in net than any other team in the Atlantic Division, certainly hope one of them does.

Woll played in 25 games for the Leafs last season, posting a 12-11-1 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. They are not numbers befitting of a No. 1 goalie. 

But in the playoffs, Woll showed what he is capable of when he stepped in for Samsonov and allowed two goals in three games before getting injured.

So far, it is that inability to stay healthy in his young career that has some worried about whether Woll, who signed a three-year extension this summer worth about $3.67 million per season, has the durability to be a true No. 1. 

For Stolarz, the question of whether he can handle a larger workload is based on opportunity. 

The 30-year-old, who signed a two-year deal with the Leafs worth $2.5 million per year, has so far been a career backup, playing behind Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida and John Gibson in Anaheim. In eight years spread across four teams, Stolarz has never played more than 28 games. 

But last year was a sort of breakout season for the second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers. For one, he won a championship. And he did it while posting a 2.03 goals-against average and .925 save percentage that were among the NHL's best — albeit in just 27 games. 

The challenge will be whether he can continue that impressive play in Toronto, where the defense might not be as strong as Florida’s and where he should be counted for a lot more games now that he’s splitting the net with Woll.

As far as the latter is concerned, Reinhart has no concerns that Stolarz and Woll won’t hit it off.

“He was unbelievable,” Reinhart said of Stolarz during the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour on Monday. “One, his personality off the ice is top-notch. It’s something that anyone would want in their room … So I’m excited to see (that happen) for him as a person. 

“Obviously, I hope he doesn’t do too well, against us at least. But I wish nothing but the best for him and that opportunity. “It’s something that’s deserved through a lot of hard work.”

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