It was previously reported that Anthony Stolarz and the Toronto Maple Leafs had been getting very near an extension, and now ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston have reported that the events have come to an settlement on a four-year, $3.75M AAV contract extension. In keeping with Weekes, the contract is “largely signing bonus cash” though no agency breakdown has been reported right now.
Two days in the past, it was reported that Stolarz and his camp, led by RSG Hockey’s Allain Roy, had been eyeing latest contracts signed by Karel Vejmelka and Kevin Lankinen as potential comparables – offers that every carry a five-year time period and an AAV of a minimum of $4.5M. The contract reported Sunday isn’t fairly as profitable as these offers, though the truth that it’s, per Weekes, heavy in signing bonuses does assist bridge the hole.
The trail to this contract has been an odd one for Stolarz, who seems to have emerged as a starting-caliber netminder on the age of 31. 5 years in the past, Stolarz was an AHL starter within the Anaheim Geese group, and he established himself as an NHL backup there. He signed with the Florida Panthers for 2023-24 to be Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, and ended up placing forth a superb .925 save proportion and a couple of.03 goals-against common in 27 video games.
That efficiency in Florida, which ended with Stolarz watching from the bench because the Panthers gained their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, earned the netminder a two-year, $2.5M AAV deal to hitch the Maple Leafs in a tandem with Joseph Woll. Though Woll began extra video games in 2024-25, Stolarz was the superior of the 2 netminders, taking part in to a wonderful .926 save proportion and 21-8-3 report throughout 34 video games.
