Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz appears to be in peak offseason training mode.
The 31-year-old’s goalie coach, George Bosak, shared a video of Stolarz training on Instagram earlier this week. The 6-foot-6 goaltender commanded the crease as players fired shots at him from his left and right sides.
“Anthony Stolarz has been looking very sharp in workouts,” Bosak wrote in the post’s caption. “The first thing he said to me this summer is that there’s unfinished business on the table. I know he is incredibly grateful for all the fan support in Toronto and is motivated to bring home a title for the Maple Leafs faithful.”
It was an up-and-down season for Stolarz, who dealt with two significant injuries throughout the year. After a strong start with Toronto, where he had 10 wins and a .927 save percentage in 17 games, the goaltender picked up a knee injury in December, forcing him to miss nearly two months.
Stolarz returned in early February and finished the season with a .926 save percentage (the best among NHL goaltenders who played 30-plus games) and 22 wins in 34 games. He entered the playoffs as Toronto’s starting goaltender, helping them get past the Ottawa Senators in the first round.
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However, things took a turn when Stolarz took a forearm to the head courtesy of Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett in Game 1 of the second round. He was diagnosed with a concussion and didn’t play another game for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, only returning to backup Joseph Woll in Game 7 against the Panthers.
Stolarz is entering his second season of a two-year, $5 million contract he signed with Toronto last summer. Last season was the first in which Stolarz was heavily relied upon as a goaltender in the NHL.
He played with the OHL’s London Knights in junior hockey and had Dale Hunter as his coach. The 65-year-old looked back on Stolarz’s time with the Knights on Wednesday while on The Fan Morning Show with Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning.
“Yeah, he had all the makeup for it. Sometimes it takes longer for goalies. He played for us. He brought us to the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately, we ran into this Nathan MacKinnon guy, and he got us,” said Hunter.
“[Stolarz] played very well. He's in a good place right now. Being an ex-London Knight, I watch him a lot. He's confident and he looks like he's ready to roll for the Leafs.”
Stolarz has a .918 save percentage and a 116-64-39 record in 142 games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Panthers, and Maple Leafs. His 34 games played with the Maple Leafs last season were a career high.
This article originally appeared on The Hockey News: 'There's Unfinished Business': Anthony Stolarz's Summer Training In Full Swing Ahead Of Second Season With Maple Leafs
(Top photo of Stolarz: Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)
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