Is Anthony Stolarz the real deal?

[Nogatco Rd]

He’s real, and he’s spectacular

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

He's leading all goalies right now with a .928SV%....again. He did the same last year. Except this year his workload has significantly increased.

This guy is good, really good.

 

[MCR74]

Incredible value for the money. No complaints here.

 

[Auston Marlander]

Best free agent signing this year.

 

[BattleEquivalent8265]

I haven't seen such confidence in a Leafs net since Cujo. 6'6 & nimble, a Bobrovsky protege.
The real deal.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Unless things dramatically change I think you run with Stolarz in the playoffs.

 

[12ozPapa]

Always have loved Stolarz and always wondered if he could shoulder a starter’s work load. Hope he keeps it up.

 

[Zybalto]

After being stuck behind Gibson and Bob the last few years ( and putting up better numbers), looks like hes making the most of his shot at taking a number 1 job so far.....and its not like Woll is just letting him have the net either. Good goalie battle.

 

[The Shadow]

Leafs have two really good goalies. This is a first. And we are in shock as fans to have a goalie steal a win for once.

 

[Sticksandsun]

Playoffs are a whole different level but happy for him, wondering if he wished he had done 1 year deal and cashed in big this July but now he almost has to put up another solid season to finally get the big payday.

 

[ponder]

I can't remotely pretend to be a goaltending expert, but the eye test does look good to me. He's big, calm, strong positionally, but still quite quick and athletic for his size. Nice rebound control too.

Stats wise, he's had a meaningful number of games played in this season and the past 3 - never remotely a starter's load, but a decent number. How he stacks up in keys stats these past 4 seasons - SV%/GAA stats from NHL Stats , Goals Saved Above Expected stats from NHL Goalie Advanced Stats 2024-2025

2024/25 - Toronto (min 5 GP, as we're early in the season - Stolarz at 16 games played, 50 goalies hit 5 games played):

• 1st in SV%
• 3rd in GAA
• 6th in Goals Saved Above Expected
• 8th in Goals Saved Above Expected per 60

2023/24 - Florida (min 10 GP - Stolarz played 27, 73 goalies hit 10 games):

• 4th in SV%
• 3rd in GAA
• 3rd in Goals Saved Above Expected
• 3rd in Goals Saved Above Expected per 60

2022/23 - Anaheim (min 10 GP - Stolarz played 19 games, 79 goalies hit 10 games):

• 49th in SV%
• 71st in GAA
• 37th in Goals Saved Above Expected
• 37th in Goals Saved Above Expected per 60

2021/22 - Anaheim (min 10 GP - Stolarz played 28 games, 71 goalies hit 10 games):

• 10th in SV%
• 23rd in GAA
• 36th in Goals Saved Above Expected
• 36th in Goals Saved Above Expected per 60

So the past 2 seasons, with Toronto (so far) and Florida, he's put up pretty elite stats, albeit in small sample sizes. With Anaheim, pretty mediocre stats. I doubt that's just him getting older/more experienced, team D probably comes into play a lot - Toronto and Florida strong defensive teams, Anaheim absolutely atrocious. As much as Goals Saved Above Expected tries to account for shot quality, it's far from perfect - the NHL event data that it's based on is just pretty limited in terms of how well it can identify shot quality.

Overall, he's still got a lot to prove - it's all been fairly small workloads/sample sizes so far, and goalie performance is so unpredictable, I don't really consider anyone a strong starter until they've proven it long term. But how he's played this year and last, very promising! As a Leafs fan, both he and Woll have been very confidence inspiring, just rock solid goaltending performances basically every game. I haven't been remotely this happy with Leafs goaltending since Freddy's first 3 years with us (before injuries and whatnot piled up in his last 2 years).

 

[The Shadow]

And 2 really good goalie prospects coming along in the AHL

Goalies are so up and down. Very hard to find elite guys who do it season after season. Always need good depth in the pipeline

Also if Stolarz keeps this up id say he is a lock for the US Olympic team

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

After being stuck behind Gibson and Bob the last few years ( and putting up better numbers), looks like hes making the most of his shot at taking a number 1 job so far.....and its not like Woll is just letting him have the net either. Good goalie battle.

Nice (and rare ) problem to have in Leaf land

 

[Dotter]

As an avid Leaf critic, I was impressed with his last game, and I was impressed with TML pulling off a win after being outplayed. That shows me they are on their way to becoming a championship team.