Hot Take Would You Extend Stollarz Right Now if You Could

With the cap set to be rising over the next few seasons,.I'd be fine locking him in and running a tandem with Woll, especially if they could get the combined number under 10 mil



The Leafs need goaltending more than any trade return though.

He'd have to go bloody well for me to resign him, we've already got one half of a quality tandem so I'd be looking for the next Stolarz
 
So does Woll.

I think there is a possibility for leveraging but man oh man would we'd have to get it right.

My preference is to keep Stolarz and Woll in a new larger cap era. But if we have the opportunity, if we have an offer we can't refuse, we at least examine the option.
The thing is AA and Hildeby may be ready to back up soon.
 
He'd have to go bloody well for me to resign him, we've already got one half of a quality tandem so I'd be looking for the next Stolarz

Easier said than done though. Leafs have spent their entire rebuild looking for goaltending stability. Woll seems part of the solution at least.

I think it's fair to still be skeptical on Stolarz but I'd feel more comfortable with a mid-priced tandem if he looks legit this playoffs
 
Easier said than done though. Leafs have spent their entire rebuild looking for goaltending stability. Woll seems part of the solution at least.

I think it's fair to still be skeptical on Stolarz but I'd feel more comfortable with a mid-priced tandem if he looks legit this playoffs

Stolarz is 31 and has had extensive injury problems over his career, he's also broken down this season

He isn't somebody to be giving a mid to long term extention, I'd give him next season then let him walk and see where Hildeby and AA are or try to get the next decent young tandem goaltender in UFA
 
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Don’t see why you rush in re-signing Stolarz. Still under contract next season, let’s see how the first half of next year goes and then we can potentially start this discussion.
 
Stolarz is 31 and has had extensive injury problems over his career, he's also broken down this season

He isn't somebody to be giving a mid to long term extention, I'd give him next season then let him walk and see where Hildeby and AA are or try to get the next decent young tandem goaltender in UFA

We finally have great goaltending for the first time since.... Belfour?..... Andersen for a bit maybe? and your suggestion is to let him walk because he's 31? I get the injuries are a bit of a gamble, but at 31, he very possibly has 5 good years left in him. This season isn't a fluke, his career numbers are solid, albeit a small sample. Thomas won his Vezinas at 35 and 37 remember. (I'm not saying he's on that level, just that goaltenders can go much longer at an elite level.)

He's clearly a notch above Woll, and with this team's style of play, I don't think we can afford to break up this tandem unless it's prohibitively expensive. I'd rather spend a few extra million on Stolarz to keep this 1A/1B combo we've got than splash an extra few million on UFAs. With the cap going up quite a bit over the next couple of seasons, I don't see why they can't make this work, although JT/Marner/Knies does complicate it.

Hildeby/AA are just too raw to count on, and if they do pan out well, the Leafs find themselves in a cup runneth over situation, which is never a bad thing.

If Stolarz puts up another elite campaign next year though, and we wait until UFA to sign him, yeah it maybe gets too pricey.

I don't know what he'd go for this offseason, assuming he has a good postseason, 5 x $4m? 4 x $4.5? His injuries have a silver lining in that it might encourage him to lock up the cash.
 
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We finally have great goaltending for the first time since.... Belfour?..... Andersen for a bit maybe? and your suggestion is to let him walk because he's 31? I get the injuries are a bit of a gamble, but at 31, he very possibly has 5 good years left in him. This season isn't a fluke, his career numbers are solid, albeit a small sample. Thomas won his Vezinas at 35 and 37 remember. (I'm not saying he's on that level, just that goaltenders can go much longer at an elite level.)

He's clearly a notch above Woll, and with this team's style of play, I don't think we can afford to break up this tandem unless it's prohibitively expensive. I'd rather spend a few extra million on Stolarz to keep this 1A/1B combo we've got than splash an extra few million on UFAs. With the cap going up quite a bit over the next couple of seasons, I don't see why they can't make this work, although JT/Marner/Knies does complicate it.

Hildeby/AA are just too raw to count on, and if they do pan out well, the Leafs find themselves in a cup runneth over situation, which is never a bad thing.

If Stolarz puts up another elite campaign next year though, and we wait until UFA to sign him, yeah it maybe gets too pricey.

I don't know what he'd go for this offseason, assuming he has a good postseason, 5 x $4m? 4 x $4.5? His injuries have a silver lining in that it might encourage him to lock up the cash.
No, he's going to be 32 going on 33 and he hasn't played a full season without injuries ever, and I mean ever

He's been a journeyman with very good numbers because he can't stay fit, that isn't a guy to be investing in long term

Maybe he has a great playoffs, then has a full season next year and I'll feel differently about him but I need to see more before I'd be comfortable investing in him mid to long term
 
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No, he's going to be 32 going on 33 and he hasn't played a full season without injuries ever, and I mean ever

He's been a journeyman with very good numbers because he can't stay fit, that isn't a guy to be investing in long term

Maybe he has a great playoffs, then has a full season next year and I'll feel differently about him but I need to see more before I'd be comfortable investing in him mid to long term

All those things you described are the only reasons we'd ever get a player of his caliber with some term cheap at UFA. He's Tier 1B in the NHL right now, and I don't know how anyone can argue it's a fluke or too small of a sample size (33 games) watching the games and how steady he is.

It's absolutely about risk/reward, but it's so incredibly difficult to find goalies with proven excellence at this level that I'd rather risk the injury thing for a modest price than letting him walk and hoping Woll can hold the fort with AA/Hild.

But yeah, people are going to disagree on this one. Having the plan be to "let him walk" because he's 32 just seems like insanity to me though.
 
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use ALL of Tavares $$ on Knies and Stolarz

JT can sign for the Min or bye-bye

Leafs future and his choice
 
Stolarz is 31 and has had extensive injury problems over his career, he's also broken down this season

He isn't somebody to be giving a mid to long term extention, I'd give him next season then let him walk and see where Hildeby and AA are or try to get the next decent young tandem goaltender in UFA

If the playoffs goes well and Stolarz takes us deep, I'm paying him and will worry about IR if it ever gets there. This is not a fiscally conservative case. He's a potentially franchise changing netminder coming at us in the most unconventional sense, something like a Tim Thomas. I'm taking the risk with a safety net in Woll for a few years.
 
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All those things you described are the only reasons we'd ever get a player of his caliber with some term cheap at UFA. He's Tier 1B in the NHL right now, and I don't know how anyone can argue it's a fluke or too small of a sample size (33 games) watching the games and how steady he is.

It's absolutely about risk/reward, but it's so incredibly difficult to find goalies with proven excellence at this level that I'd rather risk the injury thing for a modest price than letting him walk and hoping Woll can hold the fort with AA/Hild.

But yeah, people are going to disagree on this one. Having the plan be to "let him walk" because he's 32 just seems like insanity to me though.

I think a guy like Anthony Stolarz would carry a lot of value around the league and you'd never be that worried about his value dropping like a penny stock.
 
No, he's going to be 32 going on 33

So what?

Some great goalies didn't get their chance until they were 30.


and he hasn't played a full season without injuries ever, and I mean ever

Which is why you have a backup.


He's been a journeyman with very good numbers because he can't stay fit

Bollocks.

He's been a backup because he was playing behind some pretty good goalies.


that isn't a guy to be investing in long term

There's a reason you're not an NHL GM.
 
If the playoffs goes well and Stolarz takes us deep, I'm paying him and will worry about IR if it ever gets there. This is not a fiscally conservative case. He's a potentially franchise changing netminder coming at us in the most unconventional sense, something like a Tim Thomas. I'm taking the risk with a safety net in Woll for a few years.
Easy, he's played about 35 games for us and I'm being conservative because the worst thing possible is having a goaltender who's a walking band-aid you can't rely on

That ruins seasons
So what?

Some great goalies didn't get their chance until they were 30.




Which is why you have a backup.




Bollocks.

He's been a backup because he was playing behind some pretty good goalies.




There's a reason you're not an NHL GM.
There's a reason he's this age and hasn't stuck anywhere and it wasn't because he hasn't been given an opportunity

Doesn't matter to me, I want the #1G to be somebody you can rely on if I'm investing in him long term

No he's been a backup because he's never played a full season in his entire career so far, he can't stay fit long enough

I'm not, last I looked you weren't either and you aren't going to be one any time soon
 
Easy, he's played about 35 games for us and I'm being conservative because the worst thing possible is having a goaltender who's a walking band-aid you can't rely on

That ruins seasons

There's a reason he's this age and hasn't stuck anywhere and it wasn't because he hasn't been given an opportunity

Doesn't matter to me, I want the #1G to be somebody you can rely on if I'm investing in him long term

No he's been a backup because he's never played a full season in his entire career so far, he can't stay fit long enough

I'm not, last I looked you weren't either and you aren't going to be one any time soon
Lol. Dude, did you catch Stolarz in bed with your old lady or something?

Why do you hate him so much?
 
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Lol. Dude, did you catch Stolarz in bed with your old lady or something?

Why do you hate him so much?
Jesus Christ, pointing out the guys extestentive injury history and the risks of signing him long term doesn't mean I ******* hate the guy

I just don't think he's worth the risk, there's UFA goaltending available every season, that's how we've got this guy and we have 2 young guys in the system who could be ready in 18 months time

**** sakes
 
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If he has a good playoff, absolutely you sign him. When was the last time we had a goalie this good? Belfour? Stolarz is a stud. Remember, Johnny Bower didn’t get his chance with the leafs until he was 32.
 
If he takes the Leafs on a long run in the playoffs I don’t know how you don’t try and lock him up. The cap is going up and Woll is already locked up cheap for the next 3 years. We could have the best goalie tandem for the next 3-4 years
 
Gonna take some serious money to resign him if he has a good playoffs. Finished in the top 5 for $2.5m.

You might have to trade one of your stud goalies as early as next year. 41 and 60 are the best duo in the league and might be a luxury they cannot afford.
 
Will they? They seemed hot for a couple of months and then regressed. Maybe they will. I thought we had a chance to maximize one of them for other necessary assets, but that window passed.
What window? They are young and goalies take longer. If Stolarz is a true number one ,Woll could be a serious asset at TD. Can we afford 1a/1b when we clearly need other players? I still think we need a true 1d and another C to win a cup and Marner and or Tavares could be gone.
 
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What window? They are young and goalies take longer. If Stolarz is a true number one ,Woll could be a serious asset at TD. Can we afford 1a/1b when we clearly need other players? I still think we need a true 1d and another C to win a cup and Marner and or Tavares could be gone.
The window of perceived value.

Both AA and Hildeby had impressive numbers. They don’t now, and there’s a greater likelihood that they are not nearly as valuable as their brief peak suggested.

Our window of contention isn’t going to wait for years for the goalies in question to develop.

Can we afford a 1a/1b at present salaries? Of course we can. Can we afford them in light of other needs? Depends on how things shake out with other developments and what the market allows for and provides.

Of course we need a true 1D; I would rather move Reilly out than either goalie and navigate potential cycles.
 

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