Leafs, Stolarz Ending Stalemate With New Contract, Per Elliotte Friedman

The Maple Leafs may not have picked up the win in last night's pre-season contest against the Montreal Canadiens, but during the game, Elliotte Friedman did report on the Sportsnet broadcast that the Leafs and Stolarz were getting close on a new deal.

Less than 24 hours later, Friedman offered an update on those ongoing extension talks, and has revealed that a deal is near and that, when completed, it will fall in the $4M range.

At this point, there is no term being mentioned, but previous reports had suggested that the Leafs were eyeing a 3-year deal for the New Jersey native, who made his pre-season debut last night.

Stolarz has led the NHL in save percentage in each of the last two seasons, and were it not for a freak injury in Game 1 against Florida this past Spring, the Leafs may very well have dispatched of the Florida Panthers and moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals -- and potentially beyond.

Stolarz is expected to be a busy goaltender this season, at least to start the year, after Joseph Woll took a leave of absence from the team to deal with an urgent family issue. There is no timetable for his return.

The Leafs did, though, secure some support for Stolarz in veteran goaltender James Reimer, who signed a PTO in Toronto on Friday.