The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without netminder Anthony Stolarz due to an upper-body injury for more than a month, with the goalie last playing Nov. 11 against the Boston Bruins. Stolarz was initially believed to be out only on a day-to-day basis, but Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told the media later on that Stolarz’s injury was “worse” than the team originally thought.
Yesterday, Berube answered questions from the media regarding Stolarz’s status, and per The Hockey News’ David Alter, he said Stolarz remains sidelined without a timeline to even begin skating once again.
When asked whether Stolarz’s injury could be season-ending, Berube said he “wouldn’t go there” but added that Stolarz is “not going to be on the ice anytime soon.” The fact that Stolarz looks increasingly likely to miss significant time with this injury is a serious issue for a Maple Leafs team that has struggled, as a whole, in 2025-26.
The Maple Leafs lost star winger Mitch Marner to free agency over the summer, and haven’t been able to find their footing this year. The regular season has been a formality for the Maple Leafs for more than a half-decade, with the club safely reaching playoff position in the Atlantic Division on an annual basis.
Things have been very different this year. The Maple Leafs have had far more trouble collecting points this regular season compared to the past, as they currently sit sixth in the Atlantic Division and four points adrift of the New Jersey Devils who occupy the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card spot.
A factor in the team’s struggles this season has been goaltending. They surrender 3.26 goals against per game, which puts them just outside the top-10 in the NHL in terms of most goals against per game. Last season, Toronto surrendered the eighth-fewest goals per game in the NHL. Last season, Toronto got strong goaltending from its tandem of Stolarz and Joseph Woll, with Stolarz posting a .926 save percentage in 34 games and Woll registering a .909 save percentage in 42 games.
While Woll has kept up his high level of performance, he’s only managed to play in eight games. Stolarz, who played in 13 games before his injury, was not playing up to the standard he set last season, with an .884 save percentage. The result of injuries in the crease in Toronto has been that the Maple Leafs have had to rely on a revolving cast of goaltenders to fill in for its two established veterans.
24-year-old 2022 fourth-round draft choice Dennis Hildeby has filled in admirably, posting a .923 save percentage across 11 games. Early-season waiver claim Cayden Primeau, who has since returned to the Carolina Hurricanes organization, fared worse, posting a .838 save percentage in three games.
With Stolarz now poised to miss significant time, it’s entirely possible the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes end up in the hands of Hildeby.
The towering Swede has been solid at the AHL level, but outside of his brief run this season and a short cameo of six games last year, he’s largely untested at the NHL level.
With so much at stake in Toronto, it’s fair to wonder whether Stolarz’s absence might prompt the club to seek outside reinforcement in net via the trade market.
Speaking of the trade market, one Maple Leafs player whose name is reportedly surfacing on the rumor mill is Matias Maccelli. According to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, Maccelli’s “name is making the rounds” as his struggles to find his footing in Toronto continue. Maccelli has not played since Nov. 28 and has been a healthy scratch for seven consecutive games.
Clearly, this is not what Toronto envisioned when they traded a third-round pick to the Utah Mammoth to acquire Maccelli in June. Once viewed as a promising up-and-coming playmaker during his days with the Arizona Coyotes, Maccelli’s offensive production did not survive the franchise’s move north to Salt Lake City. He scored 17 goals and 57 points in 2023-24 but only managed 18 points in 55 games last season as he lost his grip on a regular lineup spot.
There was some hope that Maccelli could find chemistry with one of Toronto’s star forwards and be able to have a breakout season, lessening the blow of losing Marner. While Maccelli certainly has the talent to have that kind of breakout campaign, the desired chemistry with Toronto’s existing scorers simply hasn’t materialized.
A pending RFA with a $3.425MM cap hit, Maccelli’s best path forward might be to be traded out of Toronto. According to Pagnotta, that may be a path forward that is already being explored.
Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images