TORONTO — It’s been nearly 11 months since Anthony Stolarz led the Toronto Maple Leafs to a win under the Scotiabank Arena lights. Nearly a year since the netminder got the blue-and-white faithful on their feet and heard his name chanted from the stands.
The last time he was in the cage with the Maple Leaf on his chest, the 32-year-old saw his outing end after just two-and-a-half minutes, a groin injury forcing him out of the lineup and into a summer of difficult rehab. This after a tumultuous 2025-26 campaign made no easier by the uneven play of the group in front of him.
Wednesday night, with his Maple Leafs looking for redemption in the second half of a season-opening back-to-back, the netminder stepped back into the cage, led Toronto to its first victory of the season, and reminded fans how valuable a contributor he can be.
“It was good,” he said from the Maple Leafs’ locker room after the dust settled on a 2-1 win over the visiting New York Islanders. “First win of the season — it’s a great feeling. Something for our team to grow on, expand on, and continue to go forward. Obviously you want to win the first one last night, but to come out the way we did, respond the way we did, was extremely encouraging.”
The six-foot-six netminding behemoth played no small part in Toronto claiming that first victory. While the Maple Leafs came up with a cleaner performance than they did Tuesday night against Montreal — stringing together some more offence, limiting the self-inflicted errors in their own zone — the Islanders still managed a decent collection of dangerous chances on the home side.
It was in the latter half of the tilt, especially, that Stolarz found his rhythm.
His squad had built up a 2-0 lead — Colton Sissons potting his first goal as a Maple Leaf, and Easton Cowan doubling the lead on the power play — when the Islanders started to make a push. The visitors started collecting chances, found their way to the power play and kept the pressure on. But the veteran in the cage stood his ground. Midway through the second period, as he sprawled out to hold the Isles at bay on the heels of a man-advantage, the Scotiabank Arena crowd made their appreciation known, raining chants of 'STO-LY! STO-LY!’ down on the ice.
Early in the third came another moment of quality, when New York’s Anthony Duclair cut across the crease, tried to wait Stolarz out and flip the puck over him, only to see the netminder contort himself and thwart the winger with a raised pad — a move he later dubbed a “half scorpion.”
“He just kept dragging it, and dragging it — you know, you’re just trying to do whatever it takes to make that save,” Stolarz said of the play late Wednesday.
It’s no doubt a positive sign for the Maple Leafs as they look to return to their former place near the top of the Atlantic Division this season. The campaign in the rearview was as much a dip for Stolarz as it was for the club as a whole — the goaltender put up a league-leading .926 save percentage one year prior, only to see it slip to .893 last season.
When the disappointing year had finally come to a close — with his Maple Leafs missing out on a return to the post-season — Stolarz admitted the pressure of being the club’s No. 1 option had been difficult to bear.
“From a physical standpoint, I felt fine. I think it was more or less just putting too much pressure on myself and trying to be perfect,” he said as the club closed out their season last April. “Obviously it was the first time in my career where I had the ball in my court and was able to run with it. I was trying to be this perfect goalie and kind of strayed away from what made me successful."
A summer to clear his head — and rediscover his game — did wonders.
“Just forget about last season,” he said Wednesday of his mindset this summer. “Just go out there and rehab. I had to first and foremost get healthy. I put a lot of work in there, tried to put on a lot of muscle just to keep my body strong. Once I got the okay to go back and skate, I was just working on simplifying my game, just staying patient. I worked on some hand-eye and movements around the crease, just trying to be as calm and collected as possible.”
Wednesday night brought the first test since, and Stolarz no doubt passed with ease. Key to the equation, it seems, has been the arrival of Sergei Bobrovsky. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner paired with Stolarz during their Florida Panthers days, the duo winning the Stanley Cup together in 2024.
And while the arrival of the Russian phenom has allowed Stolarz to slide back into a more natural role as the club’s No. 2 — unlike the past two seasons, in which he and Joseph Woll went toe to toe for the top job in the cage — the relationship between the two former Cats has been just as crucial.
“It's hard for me, because I don't know the players that well, but I mean, whatever he's done, it's been outstanding,” head coach Jim Hiller said of Stolarz after Wednesday’s win. “You know, I was just talking to Bob about him. They have a good relationship — Bob was just so happy, he thought he played remarkable. Maybe that has some effect on the guy too, just the comfort level with the two of them.”
The decision by the new Maple Leafs brass to keep Stolarz in town — the club chose instead to trade Woll to Philadelphia in June — helped, too.
“It’s a vote of confidence for me,” Stolarz said. “You know, you look at the turnover, and they wanted to keep me around. For me, it’s exciting. I want to be here, I want to play here. You want to win hockey games. And just seeing all the fresh faces, the personalities and the work ethic, the pedigree of all these players that we brought in, it’s high calibre. We think we can do something special in this room.”
There’s a long road to navigate before then. The first win of the new campaign sets these Maple Leafs on the right path. There’s still chemistry to find, a system to learn, an identity to hone. But after reigniting some doubt among the fanbase Tuesday, Wednesday’s blue-collar victory comes as a sign of progress for the group.
“It's great to see that type of a win,” Hiller said of the night. “You like to see the easy ones, trust me, when you're standing behind the bench. But you appreciate the hardness — the blocked shots, the desperation at the end. Those always feel pretty good too.”
For Stolarz, and the half of the locker room that was here for the disappointing rollercoaster that was 2025-26, it’s the true start of a new chapter. One win on the board, much still to prove, and another chance to keep building around the corner.
“It’s a new season,” Stolarz said Wednesday. “There’s a lot of fresh blood. Whatever happened last season happened — we’re not worried about that. We’re just focused on this year. Just to be able to get the first one out of the way, in front of our home fans, is nice.
“It’s a good stepping stone for us. We’ve just got to continue to build on it, and just get ready for Saturday.”
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