The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting closer to welcoming back a key piece of their goaltending puzzle. Veteran netminder Anthony Stolarz has been assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on a conditioning loan, a strong indicator that his return from injury is just around the corner.
Stolarz has been sidelined since November 11, when he suffered an upper-body injury in a game against the Boston Bruins. That setback has kept him out of the lineup for 34 games, stretching over two months of action. But with this latest move, the Leafs are signaling that the finish line is in sight.
Now, don’t expect Stolarz to jump straight back into NHL action. The plan here is likely for him to get at least one game under his belt with the Marlies - a chance to shake off the rust and get back into game rhythm.
The Marlies next play on Friday, while the Leafs have two games between now and then. So if all goes smoothly, we could see Stolarz back with the big club as early as this weekend.
Before the injury, Stolarz was off to a rocky start in the 2025-26 season. In 13 appearances, he posted a 6-5-1 record with a .884 save percentage and a 3.51 goals-against average - numbers that were well below his usual standard.
And when you look at what he did from 2023 to 2025 - compiling a 37-15-5 record with a .926 SV% and a 2.10 GAA across stints with the Florida Panthers and the Leafs - it’s clear that something wasn’t quite right early this season. That upper-body issue may have been nagging him before he officially hit injured reserve.
But Stolarz’s return doesn’t just impact the crease - it has ripple effects for the rest of the goaltending depth chart, particularly Dennis Hildeby. The 25-year-old has stepped up admirably in Stolarz’s absence, logging 19 games with a 5-6-4 record, a .910 SV%, and a 2.90 GAA. He’s also posted a 6.7 Goals Saved Above Average, per Hockey Reference - a solid mark that reflects the quality of his play, even if the win-loss record doesn’t jump off the page.
Still, the numbers game is what it is. With Joseph Woll and Stolarz both under contract for the foreseeable future, and the Leafs unlikely to carry three goalies on the active roster, Hildeby is the odd man out - at least for now.
The good news? He’s waiver-exempt, so Toronto can send him back to the Marlies without risking losing him to another team.
The bad news? Unless another injury opens the door, Hildeby might be stuck waiting in the wings again, despite showing he can hold his own at the NHL level.
For the Leafs, getting Stolarz back to full health adds another layer of stability in net as they push deeper into the season. But it also brings a tough decision: reward the young goalie who’s stepped up, or return to the veteran who’s proven he can be elite when healthy. Either way, Toronto’s goaltending depth is in a better place than it was two months ago - and that’s never a bad problem to have.