Anthony Stolarz confirms he's coming for some of Joseph Woll's starts in Toronto
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
New Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that he's planning to try to take as many starts away from Joseph Woll as he can and will be more than just your everyday backup goalie.
After signing a 2-year deal with the Maple Leafs worth a total of $5M ($2.5M AAV), Stolarz is setting his sights on an expanded role in Toronto after appearing in just 27 games for the Florida Panthers last season.
Stolarz met with reporters via Zoom call on Wednesday, just 48 hours after signing his deal in Toronto and he told them that while he plans to be a good teammate and support Woll in any way that he can, it's also not his intention to be satisfied with a lesser workload again this season.
"There [was] an opportunity, I felt, [in Toronto]. In Florida I knew my role as a back-up whereas here, Woller & I will be competing for starts and as a goalie, that's all you can ask for.
Only one of us can play and you want to get as many starts as you can so when my name's called I want to go in there and try to seize the opportunity. But, at the same time, when I'm not, I pride myself on being a good teammate and I'm going to support Woller and push him."
Only one of us can play and you want to get as many starts as you can so when my name's called I want to go in there and try to seize the opportunity. But, at the same time, when I'm not, I pride myself on being a good teammate and I'm going to support Woller and push him."
Stolarz and his 2.03 GAA and .925 SV% last season certainly opened a lot of eyes, including in the Leafs' front office. How the Leafs plan to split the starts is very much up in the air, but they certainly feel like they got their guy in Stolarz, who appears to be a significant upgrade over Ilya Samsonov, at least on the surface.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 3 | 620 ANSWERS Anthony Stolarz confirms he's coming for some of Joseph Woll's starts in Toronto Who do you think will start more games for the Leafs in 2024-25? | ||
| Stolarz, for sure | 173 | 27.9 % |
| Woll, it's his time to shine | 397 | 64 % |
| Matt Murray will shock everyone this year! | 50 | 8.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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