The Toronto Maple Leafs and Anthony Stolarz’s camp are reportedly still grinding away at a contract extension.
Stolarz is entering the final season of a two-year, $5 million deal he signed on July 1, 2024. He had a strong debut with the Maple Leafs, finishing the year with a .926 save percentage through 34 games.
Despite suffering multiple injuries last season, including knee surgery — which kept him out nearly two months — and a concussion during the playoffs from a Sam Bennett forearm to the head, Toronto reportedly still wants to lock Stolarz up long term, and for good reason.
According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, who appeared on TSN 1050’s First Up with Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo on Tuesday morning, there are still a lot of “What Ifs” when it comes to the negotiations between Stolarz and Toronto.
“I suppose there’ll be a little risk in that contract if it gets done, on both ends of the equation. I think the money has to make sense from the Leafs’ side of things, of course. And for Stolarz, he would be balancing, ‘What happens if I have a great year this year? I could be a UFA.’” Johnston said.
“I mean, maybe his market goes higher in the cap environment. So I don’t know if they’re going to get it done, but certainly they’ve had a lot of conversations and have been trying to make it happen.”
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It’s fair to say, given his numbers last season and his age of 31, that it’s worth throwing term onto Stolarz’s next deal. The annual average value, however, is likely the bigger topic of discussion on both sides of the bargaining table.
Colaiacovo believes the contract could be a three- to four-year deal worth $5 or $6 million annually.
“Well, I think the term is bang on. I don’t know if the money gets there, honestly,” Johnston rebuttled. “That’s probably the trickiest part right now, and not just with the Stolarz conversation, but really any player trying to make a deal at this point in time…
“I would think that (Joseph Woll’s) at, what, $3.7 million give or take. I think it would be a little bit above that, but I don’t know if it gets up into the fives to make it happen. I think that’s probably where the sticking point is right now, and we’ll see if either side is willing to bend or compromise to make something happen.”
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Stolarz’s .926 save percentage was the best among goaltenders who played 20 or more games last season. Even before last year, the netminder’s game was trending in the direction of being a perfect fit alongside Woll as a tandem in the future with Toronto.
Funny enough, Woll and Stolarz share the same agent.
“(The negotiations are) something I’ll kind of leave to my agent and (Brad Treliving),” Stolarz told Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill on Tuesday.
“My focus is to just continue and build off what I did last year. I think that right now is the most important thing, is starting camp off the right way and getting some reps here in pre-season. And once opening night comes, we hit the ground running.”
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The salary cap is set to take another significant jump next season, going from $95.5 million to $104 million. It’s also projected to rise to $113.5 million in 2027-28. That's left many players and agents wondering whether they should cash in now or wait until the cap increases.
Stolarz, however, just wants to have a good situation for himself and the team he’s playing for.
“I think it’s just getting paid fairly. Something that helps the team, but at the same time, shows that they believe in me,” he said. “So I’ll leave that to the agent and (Brad Treliving), and for me, it’s just more or less just go out there and just continue to do what I do.”
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