We’ll start this Monday morning off with some good news:
Many believed that Stolarz would sign an extension similar to Chicago’s Spencer Knight (3 years, $5.833M AAV), or even Seattle’s Joey Daccord (5 years, $5M AAV). If he had signed a similar deal it would have represented a bit of a gamble on the Leafs’ part. Last season Stolarz played very well, but once again health was a factor as he managed to dress for just 34 games. While that mark represented a career high number of NHL games played in a single season, it’s generally understood that you want your started to play around 50 games or more a year, while your backup goaltender can tackle the remaining 32~. Stolarz has yet to show that he can stay healthy enough to play 50 games in a single season and now he’s being paid like it.
With the NHL salary cap trending up quickly, this deal could be a massive steal for the team. Stolarz placed 1st in save percentage last season with a 0.926SV% and 3rd with a 2.14GAA. If he can replicate that type of play, while staying relatively healthy over the next five years, his on-ice numbers will be comparable to goalies that make 2-3 times what he will.
Meanwhile, they still have the younger Joseph Woll signed for the next three seasons at $3.66M per year. That means that for the current season they’ll have a solid tandem in net for just a touch over $6M, while that jumps to $7.417M combined for two more years after that. In short, as long as one or both of their play doesn’t regress drastically, the Leafs have nothing to worry about in net for at least three season’s and that has to feel good for Brad Treliving and company.
Easton Cowan
The fact that people are even talking about the possibility of Cowan sticking in the NHL is also a very good thing. At just 20 years old the former 2023, 1st round selection is looking confident and ready to play on the big stage. The issue is that he appears most confident while playing with Steve Lorentz and Scott Laughton on the 4th line. In that spot it’s unlikely that he would get the minutes he requires to develop properly, which is where the debate comes in. Is Cowan better served by playing 10 minutes a night (give or take) on the 4th line, or by playing 16+ minutes a night with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in key situations?
For my money, it doesn’t hurt to have him playing against men in the AHL. While there he won’t have to go through the trouble of having to learn the professional game while also jumping through the hurdles that the media can create. The AHL is a clear step up from Junior, which means he’ll still be able to take forward steps, which makes the decision an easy one.
Right Wing #1
The topic that everybody is talking about and one that is overblown, is who will play right wing alongside Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies. At this point it’s pretty clear that Craig Berube is going to try Max Domi there until he knows it doesn’t work, but many are questioning if Matias Maccelli has earned the right to squeeze Domi out of that spot.
My opinion on this lines up fairly closely to my opinion on Cowan. Maccelli hasn’t done enough to outright force his way into that spot and because there are going to be a flood of articles talking about the absence of Mitch Marner there, it may be better to have a veteran player struggle and/or fail to fill those shoes, rather than a 24 year old, 1st year Leaf. Once the media gets over the fact that not every contending team has a pair of legitimate 1st line wingers alongside their 1st line centre (Edmonton, Vegas, Colorado and Carolina are testaments to that fact), they may drop this story and applaud Maccelli for his efforts when he does get his chance there. As of now though, whoever dresses on the right side of Matthews is going to take some heat, even if that were the best right winger they have, William Nylander.
Auston Matthews
As is the case with players such as Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Eichel, the team is going to need Auston Matthews to prop up his wingers. Before Leon Draisaitl’s contract kicked in a couple of months ago, Matthews was the highest paid player in the NHL. He needs to show the world why he earned that contract and make his wingers look better. If he struggles because nobody is “getting him the puck” then the team is in trouble.
James Reimer and the backup goalie position
With the absence of Joseph Woll for an undisclosed period of time due to family reasons, the team signed James Reimer to a PTO. The question now is whether or not he signs on for the season for veteran depth, or if he was given a PTO to simply fill in at practice and/or in a preseason game for logistics purposes. For what it’s worth I believe we’re going to see better options than Reimer on the waiver wire over the next week, but I also believe that Dennis Hildeby has done enough in pre-season to warrant a look as the teams backup to begin the year. If they do opt to sign Reimer, it should be with the understanding that he’ll head to the AHL Toronto Marlies to help develop the next wave of goaltenders coming up through the system.