The Toronto Maple Leafs are having a tough start to the 2026-27 season.
At the time of this writing, the Maple Leafs have a 3-4-2 record and are at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings. They have also lost each of their last three games. This included them losing to the New York Islanders by a 4-1 final score in their last game.
When noting that the Maple Leafs made several big moves this offseason, this kind of start has been very disappointing. As a result, it is fair to wonder if the Maple Leafs could look to shake up their roster more during the early stages of the campaign.
Now, one of their goaltenders is starting to create some chatter as a trade candidate to watch.
Toronto Maple Leafs $15M Goalie Emerges as Trade Candidate
The Athletic’s staff writers recently wrote an article looking at one “under-the-radar” trade candidate from each NHL team.
When it came to the Maple Leafs, The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel named goaltender Anthony Stolarz as the team’s top under-the-radar trade candidate for this season.
“If the Leafs can find a goalie-hungry suitor for Stolarz, they would have to at least discuss the possibility. Stolarz has three years on his contract after this one. He turns 33 in January and has struggled to stay healthy. But moving on from him now would require the team, which dealt Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby in the offseason, to be uber-confident in Artur Akhtyamov’s ability to provide NHL-caliber goaltending right away. That’s a big if,” Siegel wrote.
If the Maple Leafs traded Stolarz, it would be a significant move. The 32-year-old is currently in his third season with the Maple Leafs and has shown that he can be a very good 1B when playing at his best. He is also in the first season of his four-year, $15 million contract extension.
However, Stolarz has also struggled this season so far. In three games, he has an .875 save percentage. This is after he had a 10-10-3 record, an .893 save percentage, and a 3.28 goals-against average in 26 games last season for Toronto. Thus, he is looking to bounce back this year.
Yet, Stolarz’s past success could help him generate interest. He had the best save percentage of all NHL goalies in 2023-24 and 2024-25, so he can be very good when playing at his best.
Should the Maple Leafs Make This Trade?
Right now, it is a bit hard to say with full certainty that the Maple Leafs should trade Stolarz. Sure, he has struggled in recent seasons, but his past success could make trading him right now risky. Furthermore, the Maple Leafs’ goalie depth is already not as strong as last season, as they traded Woll and Hildeby during the offseason.
However, if Stolarz could help get the Maple Leafs another impactful defenseman, trading him could be worth some real consideration. The Maple Leafs could use Akhtyamov as their backup or even bring in a cheap veteran to replace Stolarz. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if Toronto moves Stolarz from here.
Toronto Maple Leafs $15M Goalie Suddenly Emerges as Trade Candidate