The Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up goalie Anthony Stolarz to a four-year deal worth $3.75 million per season, as reported by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
Most of the money will come in signing bonuses, though the exact breakdown hasn’t been revealed yet.
It’s a pretty amazing turnaround for Stolarz, who at 31 has finally found his groove as a top-tier NHL goalie. Just five years ago, he was grinding it out in the minors with the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL team.
The deal isn’t quite as rich as what his agents were hoping for. They were looking at recent contracts like Karel Vejmelka’s and Kevin Lankinen’s, which both landed around $4.5 million per year for five years.
But Stolarz has earned every penny of this new contract. He’s been incredible this season, posting a .926 save percentage and going 21-8-3 in 34 games while sharing the net with Joseph Woll.
His journey to this point is pretty remarkable. After working his way up to become a backup in Anaheim, he signed with the Florida Panthers last year to play behind Sergei Bobrovsky. That’s when things really clicked.
In Florida, Stolarz put up stellar numbers – a .925 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average in 27 games. He was part of the Panthers team that made it to their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, though he watched those playoffs from the bench.
That performance caught Toronto’s eye, and they brought him in this season on a two-year, $2.5 million deal. Now, just months later, they’ve decided to make him a long-term part of their future.
