After partying oceanside within the sideways rain and guzzling from sport’s most spectacular and potable prize Sunday on Fort Lauderdale’s A1A — Beachfront Avenue! — goaltender Anthony Stolarz awoke to an pressing cellphone assembly with Allain Roy.
The agent had a listing of groups within the unrestricted free agent.
“Going from the parade, you’re riding a pretty nice high, celebrating your teammates,” Stolarz stated Wednesday over Zoom.
“Monday morning, early on, my agent gave me a call, and was like, ‘All right, we’re going to do this. How do you feel about it?’ And I was super confident and super happy, and I’m just looking forward to getting to Toronto and getting the ball rolling here.”
The latest member of the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ at all times in-flux goaltending tandem — which appears to usher in one new face for every season of competition — initiatives happiness and confidence in his first assembly together with his new market’s press corps.
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And why wouldn’t he?
Not solely is Stolarz a newly minted Stanley Cup champion, he’s additionally coming off profession highs in begins (24), wins (16), goals-against common (2.03), and simply signed the richest contract of his life.
When Leafs GM Brad Treliving supplied the 30-year-old journeyman a two-year, $5-million payday to transfer north, Stolarz didn’t trouble operating by the concept by the buddies he’s leaving in South Florida.
“I imagine a lot of guys were probably hung over that Monday morning too, after the parade,” he says. “It was just kind of what’s best for me and my family. And I love the opportunity that Toronto gave me, everything that they kind of sold me on. I’m looking forward to getting there and doing great things for this organization.”
From Treliving’s standpoint, the GM had struck out on A-level goaltenders obtainable in commerce, like Jacob Markstrom, and noticed extra worth in Stolarz at a $2.5-million cap hit than, say, Laurent Brosssoit, who signed in Chicago for $3.3 million per 12 months.
From Stolarz’s viewpoint, the goalie has a lot better odds of competing for elevated ice time behind 25-year-old starter Joseph Woll than he ever had as a transparent No. 2 behind established workhorses like Sergei Bobrovsky, Carter Hart, and John Gibson.
“If you look at his career, he’s played as a backup to some top-level goaltending. So, there’s not a lot of net there, right? There wasn’t going to be a lot of starts,” Treliving stated. “He’s huge (six-foot-six, 243 kilos). He’s athletic. I feel goaltenders, as everyone knows, they take a while to mature of their sport. He’s finished that.
“So, as we looked around the market, Anthony really was a player that we focused in on. We were happy to get a deal done.”
Off the ice, Stolarz ought to slot in seamlessly.
Those who’ve labored with him in previous stops describe him a happy-go-lucky kind that strikes a pleasant steadiness between aggressive but supportive of his companion. And Stolarz arrives solely as a stranger to some, having beforehand shared a dressing room with new D-man Dakota Mermis and Max Domi in OHL London and Jani Hakanpää and Simon Benoit in AHL San Diego.
Coincidentally, Stolarz’s most up-to-date begin got here towards Toronto, a 5-2 win on April 16. Since then, Bobrovsky seized full management of the crease during the Florida Panthers’ championship run.
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But Stolarz skilled all through June with goalie guru Rob Tallas in case his quantity acquired referred to as, and Bobrovsky’s work ethic rubbed off.
“I like to pride myself on working hard, but he went above and beyond — getting out early, staying late after practice, doing lifts, doing his stretching and his routines. He was always consistent when it came to that. He was one helluva teammate. I’m going to miss him,” Storlaz says.
“But at the end of the day, he’s on the dark side now.”
Indeed, Stolarz arrives with a pleasant strut.
He’s already referring to Toronto’s 1A as “Woller,” but he’s conscious than his fellow American fell injured earlier than the Maple Leafs’ last sport and has but to carry a full starter’s workload.
“In Florida, I kind of knew my role as a backup. Whereas here, Woller and I are going to be competing for starts. And as a goalie, that’s all you can ask for,” Stolarz stated.
“Only one of us can play. And you want to get as many starts as you can. So, when my name is called, I want to go in there and seize the opportunity. But at the same time, too, when I’m not, I pride myself in being a good teammate. And I’m going to support Woller and push him throughout the year.”
A number of folks we’ve spoken to imagine Stolarz — now coming into his ninth NHL marketing campaign — is “a solid career backup.” (Heck, not in contrast to the 2 males in Leafs HQ, Curtis Sanford and Curtis McElhinney, who vouch that Stolarz’s technical prowess backs up his .925 save proportion in Florida.)
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A man able to stealing factors on the sleepy half of a back-to-back, throughout a starter’s harm stretch, or in mop-up work. Every membership wants a goalie to do this job properly.
But to Stolarz’s credit score, the person himself isn’t inserting limits on the influence he could make in a high-pressure Toronto market throughout these two seasons.
“I’ll be able to handle it just fine. I’m a pretty laid-back guy,” Stolarz says.
“There’s never a doubt in my ability. I know that I’m one of the best in the world, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity. I’m excited. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the fan base. It’s a very hungry and passionate fan base.”
Stolarz’s winding goaltending journey started in Edison, New Jersey, the place he’ll take the Cup for a bash this summer time.
It has winded by way of Corpus Christi, Texas; the University of Nebraska-Omaha; London, Ont.; Lehigh Valley, Reading, and Philadelphia, Penn.; Edmonton, Alta.; San Diego and Anaheim, Calif.; Sunrise, Fla.; and has landed him within the mecca.
Hey, you don’t survive a profession trek like that and not using a smile and a perception.
“Never take things for granted. You know, it’s obviously a privilege to play in this league. And every time you step on the ice, you get to look around, you’re playing in front of 20,000 fans. So, it’s something that, I smile every time I’m on the ice and just try to enjoy myself,” Stolarz says.
“I like the aggressive edge. I like successful video games. I feel going to Florida and having that style of taking part in into April and May — that was a consider me deciding to go to Toronto, simply having the ability to go to a aggressive staff, as a result of it’s what you need.
“At the end of the day, you want to be the best. And I think going to the best hockey market in the world is a challenge for me. I’m excited to get there and get it going.”
