NHL Insider: Will Anthony Stolarz’s Extension with the Maple Leafs Change the Team’s Future?

Contracts can be a dance—and nowhere is that more evident than in the ongoing negotiations between the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Anthony Stolarz. As the season’s ticking clock looms, these two camps are engaged in a meticulous back-and-forth, each trying to find common ground on a deal that could span three or four years. It’s all about the numbers, of course—term seems less worrisome—but the dollars? That’s the sticking point, with Stolarz wielding considerable leverage given the scarcity of available goalies and his own readiness to bet on a standout year. The chess match unfolds with every passing day, balancing risk and reward for both sides—and the stakes couldn’t be higher for Toronto, caught between locking in a key player and gambling on the unknown. Curious where this all might land? LEARN MORE

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Anthony Stolarz are going back and forth on a contract extension

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Welcome to the NHL, Kid episode on the Toronto Maple Leafs, Anthony Stolarz working on getting a contract extension done before the season starts. Could they agree on a three or four-year deal, and what number could they be looking at?

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Friedman: “I had some lead fans who reached out about Stolarz, and I mentioned that in the Toronto broadcast. I think Stolarz and the Leafs are going back and forth and back and forth. And I think when they started, there was a pretty wide chasm there, and I do believe it’s narrowed a bit.

Nick (Kypreos) and Justin (Bourne), both said they weren’t crazy about term with him. And I don’t think term is going to be the issue here. I think, it seems to me like this is going to be likely three or four years. I think the issue has been the number.

And you know, the challenge for Toronto here is that Stolarz really has a lot of leverage. He, he’s indicated that he doesn’t want this to go into the season, and so that’s a little bit of leverage his way. And the other leverage he has is he can bet on himself at a time when there’s really not a lot of other goalies available out there.

Like, look how many of these goalies are starting to get locked up. (Jeremy) Swayman, locked up. Oettinger, locked up. Spencer Knight, locked up.”

Bukauskas: “(Dustin) Wolf.”

Friedman: “There’s, Wolf locked up. He was farther away from UFA, but you’re, you’re, you’re in the market, you’re, I understand where you’re going with this. Even a guy like Kevin Lankenin, locked up.

You know, Stolarz has, he has leverage if he’s willing to bet on himself. And don’t forget, like this is a guy who’s bounced around a bit. He’s used to uncertainty.

So I still think they’re going back and forth. And when two teams go back and forth, when two sides go back and forth, as much as it appears as these two are, it says to me, there is a willingness to do a deal there. But I always look at it who’s willing to take, who benefits by being able to take more of a chance. And it probably is the player in this case. Because if Stolarz has a big year, then either Toronto is going to have the choice of, we pay him even more than we wanted to, or he walks and we have to go get somebody else.”

Bukauskas: “And we talked about this a little bit not too long ago, but even comparables right now for him, given his age, given the injury history. Talked about the term being something to when it comes to the number,
I mean, you see where Woll is at, just over 3.6 (million). They get something done, it’s probably going to be north of that, right?”

Friedman: “Yes, I, to me, the longer the term, the lower the number.”

Bukauskas: “For sure.”

Friedman: “Like, I’ve got to think we’re looking at somewhere between four and a half and five here. Unless they go, like, if they’re going more than five years, I think it’s probably less than that, just not convinced that that’s where we’re going here.”

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