Maple Leafs Rumors: Team Would Feel Most Comfortable Moving Stolarz

Despite the Toronto Maple Leafs winning three games in a row heading into the Olympic break, they still sit six points back of a playoff spot and it isn't an easy hill to climb with four teams in their way and only 25 games remaining. There isn't a ton of time or games before the trade deadline once the freeze is lifted, so some decisions will have to be made in the short term coming out of the break.

Toronto has three goalies and only needs two for next season. If they don't go into the season with only two of Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, and Dennis Hildeby, they will lose one of them. They are all NHL talent and the goaltending market is weak, so the Maple Leafs have an advantage here.

Nick Kypreos said, "A strong showing before the trade deadline might push (Stolarz's) value up. Toronto is trying to manage goaltending assets...you have to think they'd feel most comfortable moving Stolarz. The return will still have to be worth it."

This is absolutely the way the Maple Leafs should go in moving on from one of their goalies. This is a transition year for the team, and it showed Toronto that Hildeby is now ready. He's young, they developed him, and he's under team control for cheap. He posted a .912 SV% in 13 starts/19 games this season.

Woll is three years old at age 27 and signed for another two years at $3.66 million AAV. Put Woll and Hildeby's cap hits together, and that's around $4.5 million per season for a tandem. That's very cheap and by the way both have played, should be very effective. Stolarz is a different story for a few reasons.

Stolarz is signed for another four years at $3.75 million AAV. That contract hasn't kicked in yet, so the Maple Leafs would have a much easier time trading him before the deadline or even before free agency because his 5-team no-trade clause turns into a 16-team no-trade list July 1. Some teams can't figure it out in net or need a goalie that can compete for the starting job. This season should be seen more of as a down year than what to expect as Stolarz was great for a longer period of time before this season.

He has a 3.55 GAA and .882 SV% this season in 16 games, which isn't great, but has a 2.55 GAA and .917 SV% in his career prior to this season across five different teams. There will be interest, and it will be even easier for Toronto to move him if he puts a few more good games together in a row.