Anthony Stolarz Said Nothing Wrong About the Toronto Maple Leafs Poor Effort
Stolarz Criticism Was Warranted And Needed to be Said
Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Anthony Stolarz made headlines on Saturday night after his team lost 4-3 in overtime to the Seattle Kraken as he called out the team’s effort in regards to how they played not only in regulation, but in the extra session, especially on the game winning goal.
“I mean a lot of guys have been here for a while,” Stolarz told the media on Saturday. “You know overtime, you can’t let someone be up the ice there and gets a clear cut breakaway. I mean, minute left, you want to be on the ice in that situation, you got to work hard. Got to work back and cost us a point there.”
Now whether he was pointing a figure at William Nylander who got beat by Kraken defenseman Josh Mahura up the ice. Mahura started the play behind his own net and goaltender Joey Daccord. He then skated the puck up the ice and played give and go with Jordan Eberle at the blue line, before sneaking behind the Toronto defense for the winner.
But it was not just Nylander who got beat. It was Auston Matthews too. Both guys got caught watching Mahura and there was no movement in their legs to make a play. Nylander tried, but the previous offensive rush took something out of him, but why didn’t he change when Mahura had the puck behind his net to regroup? Same for Matthews?
Instead it was the same old song and dance for the Toronto Maple Leafs when it comes to the effort. This isn’t about gelling or cohesiveness and needing time to adjust to a new system. The players know what to expect from head coach Craig Berube. That was lazy hockey.
Stolarz, who just signed his new extension and was there last year put his teammates on notice. However, he shouldn’t have to. Both should know better. This is similar to the situation with the Dallas Stars years ago involving Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Both players had to continuously hear it from the owner or general manager about playing better.
Like with Benn and Seguin, why do Nylander and Matthews constantly need a kick in the pants. Was Mitch Marner really the problem? The effort is the problem and playing a full 60 minutes or in this case 65 minutes. And Anthony Stolarz made it clear he wants everyone to work hard in front of him.
“I mean, at the end of the day too, it’s more or less just about working hard. And, just when we work hard, the results come,” Stolarz said. “You saw it in the third period (Saturday’s night game in Seattle). And, you can’t play for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, we got to do it for a complete 60.”
And it clear the start of the season is frustrating for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was going to be without Marner in the lineup. They are new team trying to find their identity. And while there is time to gel, most of the group has been together for a while. They know what it takes to win. The compete level and being hard to play against.
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Stolarz knows the potential for this club considering they took the Florida Panthers, the two-time Stanley Cup Champions to Game 7 of Round 2 in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. So it is frustrating for him to constantly see efforts like the one on Saturday.
“I mean, how many time points are we gonna leave out there? Being here last year, and seeing the team we had, and seeing how far we were able to go, and the potential, like the potentials there,” Stolarz continued. “Like we have the skill, we have the grit, we have the grind. And, it’s just frustrating that you can always can’t put together right now.”
There is a reason why Stolarz won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. He wants to bring that Championship Mindset to the Toronto Maple Leafs. We all know teams are not able to play the same way every night over 82 games.
However what he is looking for is the effort throughout those 82 regular season games and into the playoffs which has been the biggest issue, especially towards the end of series in high pressure situations.
But of course on Monday ahead of their game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Stolarz and the rest of the team had to discuss his comments from Saturday including Nylander, Matthews, and Berube.
All three players and the head coach expressed that Stolarz’s comments were a non issue. Most of all it was frustration and everything is all good between them. They push each other to be better. However, Nylander and Matthews did tell the media there is frustration in the locker room because they know as a team they can play better.
But Stolarz shouldn’t have to defend his comments to the media or his teammates. Good teammates can take constructive criticism. “It is a part of building greater strength,” as a former GM told Full Press Media. “The Maple Leafs seem to be happy not pursuing greater strength.”
It will be interesting to see how the Toronto Maple Leafs come out and play on Tuesday night against the Devils, who are looking to use Toronto as a measuring stick game in terms of where they are in the Eastern Conference heirarchy.
However, something has to change. Anthony Stolarz should be convicted in his comments and should not be afraid of standing by what he said. He said enough is enough. Now it is time to back it up.
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