Suggestion from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman May Have Leafs, Stolarz Quickly Finding Common Ground

Anthony Stolarz was eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st, but his extension talks were put on hold as Treliving focused on re-signing John Tavares and Matthew Knies and pulling off deals for in the likes of Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli and Nicolas Roy.

However, the Leafs and the former Panthers goaltender are still working through the complexities of an extension in an attempt to get something done before training camp or the start of the regular season.

GM Brad Treliving indirectly noted that he was hoping for Stolarz to be signed as quickly as possible at the GM meetings in Michigan at the end of August.

The 31-year-old is coming off of a career year despite injury troubles, playing in 34 games and posting a 21-8-3 record, a 2.14 GAA and ridiculous .926 save percentage, leading many to speculate that he could more than double his $2.5M salary on his new deal.

On Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Blackhawks announced a three-year extension for 24-year-old goaltender Spencer Knight. The deal carries at $5.8M cap hit and buys one year of unrestricted free agency.

Later on Sunday, when Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman recorded Monday's '32 Thoughts: The Podcast', he suggested that the three-year term would be something that would help the Leafs and Stolarz find common ground rather quickly.

In one sense, three years makes sense for both sides. It allows the Leafs to reward Stolarz for his excellent play last season and solidifies their crease without hindering them long-term. It also allows Stolarz to get some security -- something the injury-prone goalkeeper is likely looking for.

As training camp kicks off in a few days, it will be interesting to see how fast the two sides are able to come to an agreement -- either on a new deal or to put discussions on hold so it doesn't become a distraction.