{"id":419155,"date":"2026-01-21T04:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T04:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/419155\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T04:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T04:40:13","slug":"maple-leafs-anthony-stolarz-takes-big-next-step-toward-injury-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/419155\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs\u2019 Anthony Stolarz takes big next step toward injury return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maple Leafs\u2019 Anthony Stolarz takes big next step toward injury return<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> moved one step closer to restoring their goaltending depth this week<\/a>, as Anthony Stolarz officially entered the final phase of his recovery from a lengthy injury absence.<\/p>\n

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The organization confirmed on Tuesday that Stolarz has been loaned<\/a> to the Toronto Marlies on a conditioning assignment, signaling that the veteran netminder is nearing a full return to game action.<\/p>\n

\u201cG Anthony Stolarz has been assigned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on a conditioning loan.\u201d Leafs PR posted on X, formerly Twitter.<\/p>\n

Conditioning stints are typically reserved for players who are medically cleared but need live-game reps before rejoining the NHL lineup. Stolarz has been sidelined since Nov. 11, when he exited a loss to the Boston Bruins after the first period with what was initially described as an upper-body injury.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old later revealed the issue was nerve-related, a complication that required time and patience rather than aggressive treatment. Despite the extended absence, Stolarz continued skating and participating in full practices<\/a>, laying the groundwork for this next step. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube emphasized that game action<\/a> is the final checkpoint in Stolarz\u2019s recovery process.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJust full practices and lots of different types of work and shots \u2014 that\u2019s important for him to get that in before he is ready to go. I don\u2019t have a timeline on [how long he will be in the AHL),\u201d said coach Berube, via NHL.com.<\/p>\n

The Marlies assignment allows Stolarz to rebuild timing and comfort without the pressure of NHL competition. If everything goes as planned, the goaltender could return before the Olympic break, depending on how his body responds to live action.<\/p>\n

Before the injury, Stolarz appeared in 13 games for Toronto, posting a 6-5-1 record. While his early-season numbers were uneven, the Leafs showed long-term confidence by signing him to a two-year extension last summer<\/a>, keeping him under contract through 2027-28.<\/p>\n

In his absence, Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby have stabilized the crease and helped Toronto climb<\/a> into a playoff position. With eight games remaining before the February break, the Leafs now face a positive problem \u2014 deciding when the timing is right to reintegrate a healthy, motivated Stolarz as they look ahead to the stretch run of the season.<\/p>\n

Related: Maple Leafs\u2019 Auston Matthews passes Borje Salming on all-time franchise list<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Maple Leafs\u2019 Craig Berube has no update on William Nylander\u2019s groin injury<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs\u2019 Anthony Stolarz takes big next step toward injury return appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[54,95,825,3081,52337,5,3821,52336,20,5172,4,66,31,1725,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-419155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-anthony-stolarz","9":"tag-boston-bruins","10":"tag-craig-berube","11":"tag-dennis-hildeby","12":"tag-game-action","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-joseph-woll","15":"tag-lengthy-injury","16":"tag-maple-leafs","17":"tag-mapleleafs","18":"tag-nhl","19":"tag-toronto","20":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","21":"tag-toronto-marlies","22":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115931252363223000","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/419156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}