New Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz is finally catching up on sleep.
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind: winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, partying at Fort Lauderdale Beach, a parade, and then the chaos of unrestricted free agency.
“Everything happened so fast,” said the 30-year-old Stolarz. “It was a quick turnaround from being in Florida to picking a team. Going from the parade high with your teammates to being on the phone with your agent. But I’m super happy and super confident.”
The same applies to 32-year-old defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Stolarz’s teammate in Florida and now in Toronto.
“It’s been unreal,” said Ekman-Larsson. “Winning the Cup is something that will stay with me forever. I’m very thankful for that opportunity, but I love coming into Toronto. The passionate fan base, the great group of players, and I feel like I can help them.”
Teams love adding Cup champions to the dressing room, players who have proven they know what it takes to win. However, the Leafs need more than that.
The six-foot-six Stolarz, a career backup, joins on a two-year deal at $2.5 million per season. He’ll share the net and challenge Joseph Woll for the No. 1 job, after posting a .925 save average as Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup. Last month, Woll re-signed for $10.98 million over three years.
“It’s a historic organization,” said Stolarz. “There’s an opportunity here. I knew my role in Florida as a backup. Here, Woll and I will be competing for starts, and as a goalie, that’s all you can ask for.”
The Leafs haven’t spent much on goaltending under GM Brad Treliving and previous GM Kyle Dubas, preferring reclamation projects (Jack Campbell, Matt Murray, Petr Mrázek, Erik Källgren, Ilya Samsonov, Martin Jones) rather than making big moves, like trading for and re-signing Frederik Andersen.
However, the underlying numbers suggest Stolarz is a safer bet. His expected save percentage (plus 2.38), goals saved above expected (plus 15.14), and goals per game saved above expected (plus 0.56) were among the NHL’s top three, according to Meghan Chayka, co-owner and chief data analyst at Stathletes.
Part of Stolarz’s success is due to playing for the Panthers, who tied with the Winnipeg Jets as the best defensive team last season, allowing just 2.41 goals per game. In contrast, the Leafs allowed 3.18 per game, ranking 21st out of 32.
Treliving believes a coaching change from Sheldon Keefe to Craig Berube and the additions of Ekman-Larsson and Chris Tanev on the blue line will help improve that.
“He’s a very good goalie, obviously … You guys are going to love him,” Ekman-Larsson said of Stolarz.
Drafted by the Flyers in the second round in 2012, Stolarz bounced around with established goalies ahead of him, including John Gibson in Anaheim before Bobrovsky in Florida. He said he learned a lot along the way.
“Sergei was a great teammate and a true professional,” said Stolarz. “His work ethic was incredible. I pride myself on working hard, but he went above and beyond: getting out early, staying out late, doing lifts, stretches.
“He was one hell of a teammate — I’m going to miss him — but now he’s on the dark side. I’m looking forward to playing against him next year.”