The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Friday.
The next step is obvious for Anthony Stolarz.
“For me, first and foremost, you want to play more games than you did last year,” the Leafs goalie said. “So, you know, just staying healthy.”
Stolarz led the NHL with a .926 save percentage while playing a career-high 34 games last season. He missed time with a knee injury in the regular season. Stolarz backstopped Toronto to a playoff series win against the Ottawa Senators before missing most of the second-round series against the Florida Panthers with a concussion.
Injury prevention was a focus during the off-season.
“I’ve just kind of been working with the medical staff, just coming in and strengthening my lower body, my upper body, just trying to keep those minor tweaks away,” Stolarz said. “I worked a lot this summer with my trainer and my goalie coach as well, just working on things to stay healthy.”
When healthy, he has shown he can post elite numbers. Stolarz also led the NHL in save percentage during the 2023-24 season, finishing at .925 over 27 games with the Panthers while serving as the back-up to Sergei Bobrovsky. After lifting the Stanley Cup in Florida, he signed a two-year deal, $5-million deal with the Leafs.
The 6-foot-6 goalie made a big first impression on his new team last year.
“He’s shown us last year that he can handle the load,” Leafs head coach Craig Berube said. “He’s a veteran guy now. He’s been around for a long time. He’s learned over the years how to take care of his body and what type of shape he needs to be in to be able to handle a heavier workload, and he wants a heavier workload.”
The late-blooming Stolarz, who was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, believes the best is yet to come. He lists Tim Thomas and Ben Bishop, who became starters on Cup-contending teams later in their careers, as role models.
“It’s nice to have guys that you can look up to, you know, guys that may peak later and can offer inspiration for guys who have similar trajectories as me,” the 31-year-old from New Jersey said. “Whether you get hurt or whether you just haven’t been put in the right opportunity, you just keep working and good things will happen.”
Berube on Stolarz craving for more games: He’s shown us he can handle the workload After an incredible season with the Maple Leafs where he led the league in save percentage, goaltender Anthony Stolarz wants to play more games in this upcoming campaign. Headcoach Craig Berube spoke about what Stolarz has shown during his short time with the club that suggests he’s ready for a bigger workload.
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Stolarz is eligible to sign a contract extension with the Leafs and negotiations are ongoing. How often is he checking in with agent Allain Roy?
“He calls me probably every two or three days to kind of just give me an update,” Stolarz said. “But I let him take care of it. He’s negotiated thousands of contracts. I’m just focused on getting ready for the start of the season, get a few games in here, and looking forward to that opener.”
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston previously reported that Stolarz is unwilling to negotiate during the regular season as he wants to keep his focus on the ice.
“Hopefully something can get worked out here,” Stolarz said. “But, like I said, I kind of just leave it to the agent. That’s kind of why we give them the big bucks to do that. My job is to focus on playing.”
Stolarz did not dress in Toronto’s first three pre-season games, but is in line to start on Saturday when the Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens.
“I can get up to speed pretty quick,” he said. “Like last year, coming back from the injury, I was able to come back and didn’t need any minor league games.”
Stolarz is expected to get into one other exhibition game before Toronto opens the regular season against the Habs on Oct. 8.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s going to be fun to go out there and get back in there, get back out there battling with the guys. And playing in front of our own crowd will be a lot of fun.”
CJ: Stolarz stalemate comes down to term; both sides are committed to finding a solution TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins Mark Masters to discuss the hold-up in Anthony Stolarz’s contract negotiations with the Maple Leafs, Toronto signing James Reimer to a PTO with Joseph Woll away from the team, and his memories from Reimer’s first stint with the Leafs.
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The Leafs will likely lean on Stolarz more than expected early in the season because Joseph Woll is on personal leave and the team does not know when the 27-year-old from St. Louis will return.
Dennis Hildeby is the next man up on the depth chart. The 24-year-old made his NHL debut last season playing in six games and posting an .878 save percentage. He has performed well in the pre-season so far, but would likely benefit from more seasoning in the American Hockey League.
The Leafs signed James Reimer to a professional tryout agreement on Friday. Berube stressed the move was not a reaction to any new development with Woll.
“Depth,” Berube said simply when asked why the Leafs brought in Reimer.
“He’s an NHL goalie,” the coach said to a follow-up question. “Been an NHL goalie, but, you know, I’ve never met the guy.”
Toronto had a veteran option in the minors, Martin Jones and Matt Murray, in each of the past two seasons, which provided a solid stopgap solution when the NHL regulars missed time.
Reimer posted a .901 save percentage in 22 games with the struggling Buffalo Sabres last season. He also got into a couple games with the Anaheim Ducks. The 37-year-old was drafted by the Leafs in the fourth round in 2006 and spent the first six seasons of his NHL career in Toronto.
“He was here my first couple of years, and was a staple as part of this team,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly, who is the only current Leaf who played with Reimer during his first stint in Toronto. “Always with a smile on his face and always with a good attitude.”
For those reasons, Reimer emerged as a fan favourite during what was a tough time for the franchise. The Morweena, Man., native seemed to be eternally optimistic.
“Works hard,” Rielly recalled. “Obviously, he’s been around for so long now, that doesn’t just happen. He’s been working really hard. He’s obviously a great goalie. Just cool to see him back in the building.”
Reimer’s return has Leafs reminiscing of his optimism and hard working regiment After news broke Friday that the Maple Leafs were signing James Reimer to a professional tryout, players spoke post practice about what they remember from their days playing alongside him and what his return adds in terms of depth to an already strong goaltending roster.
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William Nylander provides YouTube with plenty of material courtesy his highlight-reel goals, but now the Leafs winger is going even further and launching his own channel.
“I just thought it would be a fun thing to do and give fans an insight to my life away from the rink,” said the 29-year-old Swede. “Hopefully some fun stuff in there.”
Such as?
“I don’t know,” Nylander said coyly. “I think it’s just, you know, some fun things.”
Nylander has posted just one video so far at www.youtube.com/@williamnylander, but already has more than 12,000 subscribers.
Teammates are certainly curious.
“I heard rumblings of it,” said Stolarz. “Some guys were talking about it a little bit. I guess I’ll have to hop on YouTube and take a peek at that and see what’s Willy been up to.”
This isn’t the first time Nylander has taken the initiative to pull back the curtains. He’s also been featured in the behind-the-scenes Amazon documentary ‘FACEOFF: Inside the NHL’ the last two years.
“That’s what made it kind of easy,” he noted. “It wasn’t going to really change too much. I’ve done it before, so that’s why I thought it wouldn’t be doing too much. When I first did the first stuff [with Amazon], was a little bit worried about maybe getting distracted, but now that I’ve done that a couple of times, I think it’s just going to be the same kind of situation.”
Nylander posted a career-high 98 points two years ago and a career-high 45 goals last season.
“He’s a great human being and someone that we respect in this room,” Stolarz said. “He’s someone that we lean on a lot. I’m looking forward to seeing him take that next step.”
Nylander launches YouTube channel to give fans inside look at life on and off the ice Maple Leafs winger William Nylander launched a personal YouTube channel Thursday and spoke about what sparked the idea, how quickly it came to fruition and how his teammates might react when the cameras start to roll.
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Nylander is hoping to earn some penalty-kill minutes this season.
“Just getting reps now,” he said. “PKed not last year, but the year before that so hopefully get out there and help the team PK.”
Nylander had a regular shorthanded role two years ago under former head coach Sheldon Keefe, but didn’t crack the rotation last year. What are his chances this year?
“As good as anybody else on the team,” Berube said.
Nylander sought direction and feedback from the coaching staff while taking penalty kill reps alongside Bobby McMann during Friday’s workout. The other forward combinations featured Auston Matthews with Matthew Knies, Steven Lorentz with Scott Laughton and Dakota Joshua with Nicolas Roy.
What does Nylander have to show to carve out a role?
“On a penalty kill, sacrifice is a big part of it,” Berube said. “It’s your PK routes, doing the right things. You know, it’s work. Obviously the routes and the system is really important, but it’s effort and it’s sacrifice. That’s penalty kill all day long.”
The Leafs finished 17th in penalty killing last season when the unit was overseen by former assistant coach Lane Lambert, who is now the head coach in Seattle. Derek Lalonde is the new assistant coach running things this season.
Leafs Ice Chips: Nylander must show sacrifice to earn PK time During a Maple Leafs’ special teams focused practice, William Nylander was taking reps on the penalty kill next to Bobby McMann. Head coach Craig Berube spoke about the sacrifice he wants to see out of Nylander on the PK and what Morgan Rielly has to do to find success on the man advantage as he returns to quarterbacking the powerplay.
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Friday’s practice featured all the NHL regulars together in part so the group could drill down more on special teams.
With Mitch Marner gone, Rielly is back as the quarterback on the top power-play unit to start the season.
“Good,” he said of the practice reps on Friday. “I mean, it’s early, but you want to start making progress, and so we’ll look to keep doing that.”
The rest of Toronto’s top unit is unchanged. Matthews and Nylander are on the flanks with John Tavares in the middle and Knies in front of the net.
What is Berube looking for from Rielly to make it work?
“Has he not had success here before on it?” the coach responded. “He could probably do the same thing.”
It’s true that the Leafs power play has been effective with Rielly at the helm in the past, but he’s lost that spot at times, including last season. Your humble correspondent suggested that it’s been an up-and-down situation.
“It’s always up and down power plays,” Berube said. “I mean, it’s not on one guy. It’s on all five guys to work together and do things right. And it’s not complicated. Like, Morgan’s got to move pucks to the flanks, obviously, and he’s got to shoot pucks. Like, I mean, when you have an opportunity to shoot a puck, shoot it. We got two big guys at the net. That’s always a good play, in my opinion. You don’t have to complicate the power play.”
How will Rielly know when it’s the right time to shoot?
“It’s hard to say,” the 31-year-old admitted. “I mean, I think when you have a chance, you know, you have to be willing to shoot it.”
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After scoring twice in Thursday’s pre-season game in Montreal, Laughton continued putting the puck in the net during Friday’s practice. The veteran centre made a nice move to score a shorthanded goal against the top unit at practice.
Matthews pushed Laughton to the middle of the stretch circle after practice wrapped up, which led to stick taps from teammates.
“Good night last night,” Rielly said. “A big part of our group, and when your guys have big nights, even in pre-season and in training camp and all the rest of it, it still counts. We’re all happy for him.”
Scott Laughton, who scored twice last night and just scored a beauty short handed goal in special teams reps, pushed into the middle of the stretch circle by Auston Matthews as team taps sticks after practice pic.twitter.com/LjIbrFeU7Z
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) September 26, 2025
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Defenceman Simon Benoit (upper body) rejoined practice on Friday for the first time in a week, but wore a red no-contact sweater.
Defenceman Marshall Rifai will require wrist surgery after getting hurt in Thursday’s game. He spent last season with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League, but did get into two games with the Leafs two years ago.
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Lines at Friday’s practice:
Knies – Matthews – Domi
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Joshua – Roy – Maccelli
Lorentz – Laughton – Cowan
Robertson – Kampf – Jarnkrok
Pezzetta
McCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Carlo
Ekman-Larsson – Myers
Thrun – Benoit
Stolarz
Hildeby
Power play units at Friday’s practice:
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Matthews, Nylander
Middle: Tavares
Net front: Knies
QB: Ekman-Larsson
Flanks: Domi, Maccelli
Middle: McMann
Net front: Roy
Note: Cowan rotated in with the second unit
Penalty kill units at Friday’s practice:
Knies – Matthews
Lorentz – Laughton
Joshua – Roy
McMann – Nylander
McCabe – Tanev
Ekman-Larsson / Myers – Carlo