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

 

[mikeyz]

Considering he’s never played more then 28 games in a season, IMO it’s way too early to do that.

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

28 in the NHL

 

[SprDaVE]

Lot's of time to figure out where he is by the end of the year. Goaltenders can be pretty volatile.

 

[Leafsfan74]

Too early. If he proves he is a good or great goalie over a period of time, he will get paid.

If he wins the Conn Smythe, he will make $10M+ a year in Toronto. If he needed any additional motivation that should be it. Literally, $10M+ a year if he wins the Conn Smythe trophy.

I was lucky enough to watch Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. Two very different personalities except with one intersecting commonality: they both were highly competitive and willed themselves to win games even if it was on their own.

Players have faith in him and he seemed determined to be a dominant goalie thus far. With his fairly strong defense in front of him, if he plays as he has the backend is ready Prime Time.

 

[MCR74]

No. I wouldn't want to wind up like Ottawa, stuck with a 4-5 year deal.

 

[The Iceman]

We have him for 2 years....no reason to extend him at this point.

Stolarz will be 32 years old at the end of his deal, he has never played more than 35 games in an NHL season.

Lets see how this plays out INCLUDING playoff performance.

 

[ACC1224]

Better question for this time next year.

 

[Dough72]

3.5x3 is a no-brainer. Easy contract to unload if it doesn't work out.

 

[Gary Nylund]

3.5x3 is a no-brainer. Easy contract to unload if it doesn't work out.

I'd do it as well. Seems like people would rather wait and pay him 8m or WE down the line if he proves himself but there are a couple of issues here:

1)
Goalies are so hard to predict, no guarantee that he doesn't play great, sign for 8m and then start sucking. Or to put it another way, for people don't want to gamble on him now, goalies are always a gamble so if you don't gamble now, you're gonna gamble later anyway.

2)
If he is fantastic and can be signed for 8m down the line, where's that cap space supposed to come from? I assume we're going to resign Marner, then Knies is going to cost a bundle, then whoever is our #2C be it JT or whoever else will also cost a pretty penny so good luck finding 8m for Stolarz.

Just cause Campbell didn't work out doesn't mean Stolarz won't. If you want to win, you need some guys who are playing great for less cap than they're worth. You gotta take a chance on someone at some point so if Stolarz isn't a good gamble, who is?