Insider Reveals Why Anthony Stolarz Was Rushed Back Into Game Action

The storylines were plentiful before, during, and after Friday night’s matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vegas Golden Knights. As expected, Mitch Marner’s return to Scotiabank Arena dominated the spotlight, while Rasmus Andersson’s Golden Knights debut added another intriguing wrinkle.

With all of that already generating major buzz, then came the news that Anthony Stolarz would make a surprisingly quick return to the crease for an extremely important game on multiple levels. We obviously know it didn’t go so well for the Maple Leafs netminder—allowing five goals on 30 shots in a losing effort—and as a result, questions have come up about why he was thrust into the net so suddenly.

---

TSN insider Darren Dreger shared the latest details surrounding the situation Monday, revealing that Stolarz essentially overruled both HC Craig Berube and GM Brad Treliving to make the start against Vegas.

Dreger said:

“Surprised, because that was ahead of schedule from everything I had been told. He was tracking toward the end of January, so that would have been more along the lines of later this week. There is some clarity required here because when Berube was asked why Stolarz got the start instead of playing a game or two in the American Hockey League, his response was ‘not my call.’ So then you think, okay, if it’s not the head coach, it must be the GM. Well, that wasn’t it either. In fact, both the coach and the GM wanted Anthony Stolarz to play a game with the Toronto Marlies, and Anthony Stolarz just flat out said, ‘No, I’m not doing that.

He felt he was ready—and had been ready for about a week. He just said, ‘Look, if I’m physically ready, mentally recharged, and good to go, just put me in the net.’ This was more about Stolarz instituting his will to get back in goal than Toronto pushing him into the net without a conditioning stint,”

The 32-year-old Stolarz has struggled even when healthy this season, to the tune of a 6-6-1 record while sporting a 3.63 goals-against average and a .880 save percentage in the process. His four-year, $15 million extension, signed with the Maple Leafs in September, doesn’t kick until the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

It Hasn’t Been a Smooth Season for Anthony Stolarz

After a fantastic first year as a Maple Leaf in 2024-25, Stolarz has faced a lot of drama and adversity so far in 2025-26.

From a poor start to the year to calling out William Nylander after an overtime loss to Seattle in October, to missing over three months with an injury, to now this strange return dilemma, it’s been a rocky road, to say the least.

Not to mention, the strong play of Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby in his absence fueled trade rumors that Stolarz could become expendable, providing Toronto an opportunity to bolster other areas of the roster.

There is plenty of season—and the most important part of it—left for Stolarz to somewhat right the ship, though if that doesn’t happen, we can surely expect more chatter around his future as a Maple Leaf to come this offseason.

Next: Auston Matthews Under Fire for Ducking Media During Marner Return