Hot Take: Would You Extend Stollarz Right Now if You Could?

[Goose]

First time I've been truly excited by a Leafs goalie in a long, long, loooooong time. This guy really looks like the real deal. I can't even remember the last time I had confidence that we could hang onto a lead thanks to goaltending.

Probably a good indicator of why I post on HFBoards and am not a GM, but I'd tack an extra 3.5x3 onto his contract right now if I could.

Curious how much of a small-sample overreaction people think this would be?

What would you guys do? Let this year play out and extend in the off-season if he plays well?

Wait the two years for his contract expire?

Go higher than what I've proposed? Up to 4, 4.5, or 5?

I'm probably just high off of a Bruins shutout, but I'm already scared of getting priced out of him after next season.

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[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

No, he's been GREAT but the sample size isn't nearly big enough yet.

 

[Maple Leaf]

No leafs should sign players based on PLAYOFFS

 

[Dekes For Days]

He's been really good so far, but the play of goaltenders can change in an instant. We've had recent goalies do this for much longer than the 9 games Stolarz has, and then fall off a cliff. There's no rush.

 

[rumman]

Depends on what he’d sign for……

 

[ITM]

His body of work demands we wait at least until the 2025-2026 season. We've got other obligations come July 1st, 2025. I think we're still depth-poor and need to see how things shake throughout the lineup. But I'd prioritize as follows:

1. Sign Knies to a long-term deal.
2. Determine Marner's and Tavares' future.
3. If current trends continue: Resign Pacioretty and sign Timmins to a longer deal.
4. Address other depth needs, which includes assessing whether Woll gives us leeway to in determining the kind of contract Stolarz gets. If Woll isn't what we think he is, his contract won't be an albatross, but it won't be helpful either.

Our club probably has at least four question marks in our bottom six, and maybe a one in the third pairing, but fortunately, extending Stolarz isn't an imperative just yet.

For me, Woll's performance in last year's playoffs was so convincing that I think his talent level merited the extension. His health is plainly of serious concern, but when you look at the sheer number of games Stolarz has played as a 30 year old goalie (i.e. 117), it's not an outright red flag, and maybe we have a Tim Thomas situation on our hands, but a measured approach at this time is the best approach.

 

[GoonieFace]

6’6 - 30 year old goalie who has never played more than like 45 games in any professional season. No thanks, let’s wait and see what the next 2 years bring

 

[BertCorbeau]

Nope. Far too early to tell. We've had goalies go on heaters before.

 

[All Mod Cons]

We gotta lock Marner and Tavares in first. Then Knies. And then we can just bargain bin shop to fill out every other position. It'll work.

 

[DarkKnight]

At this point I'm thankful Treliving did a second year. No need to think about this right now.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Nope, goalies are crazy inconsistent in the NHL the past decade so I’d wait

 

[banks]

I've jumped on too many goalie bandwagons in the past. I believed in Jack Campbell so much, I'd have matched the offer from Edmonton in a minute. And I thought Samsonov was going to be the guy and couldn't believe he fell into our laps.

I like Stolarz. But let's just enjoy the 2 year bargain we seem to have. We'll know everything we need to know by the time that's finished.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

Stolarz has been more than anything anyone could’ve thought. Absolute beauty.

But I wouldn’t think about extensions until sometime during next year. Maybe January 2026 onwards

I’ll take the extra 500-1.5m if we can get another half year of certainty and see that it isn’t just a fluke run/year

We’ve seen goalies go on hot runs and then fall back to mediocre levels. Let’s not jump the gun here