Stolarz has not skated since he suffered a lower-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on December 12th.
The Toronto Maple Leafs returned to practice on Tuesday after completing a four-day stretch that saw the club play three games. Though there was a possibility that goaltender Anthony Stolarz (lower-body), who remains on injured reserve, would partake, the 30-year-old was not present.
Once practice had concluded, general manager Brad Treliving provided an update on the netminder, explaining his absence.
After being further tested, Treliving stated that Stolarz had an MRI which revealed no structural damage to his knee, but an additional procedure to remove a loose body that looks like a "little pebble" with his knee is required.
"We did an MRI on him the following day. The good news is that everything came back and there was no structural damage," said Treliving. "There still seemed to be some discomfort with him and knee issues moving his knee, straightening his leg. There was found almost like a little pebble, a loose body that was stuck in behind his knee."
"He's going to have a procedure to have that removed. It's not a repair, it's not of that nature but they are going to remove a loose body. At this time we're going to list him as week-to-week. I would anticipate that we're looking in the four to six week mark," he added.
Five days removed from his injury, once deemed day-to-day, the timeline for Stolarz's return is set for four to six weeks, according to Treliving.
The former second-round pick (45th overall) has a history with knee injuries, including surgeries that healed a medial collateral ligament tear in his right knee and a torn left meniscus in 2017 - causing him to be sidelined for a significant period of time.
However, Treliving made it a point to mention that the injury is not related to any previous knee injuries and the ailment is not a reoccurrence, it's unrelated.
Stolarz was placed on IR on December 15, retroactive to his exit on December 12 against the Anaheim Ducks. The first year Leaf traveled with the team to Detroit but did not participate in any on-ice activities – being deemed “day-to-day," though not the case as of December 17.
His move to injured reserve ensured that Stolarz would have a minimum seven-day absence, retroactive to his last game, making him unavailable for the club’s upcoming road game against the Dallas Stars on December 18.
When asked if he thought Stolarz would be back this week on Friday, head coach Craig Berube said, “Yeah, I do, but, in saying that, again, he's gotta get on the ice… Right now, he's day-to-day."
It seems that, what initially seemed like a minor issue or something that could improve day-to-day looked to have been re-evaluated with additional testing, revealing a more significant injury and timeline to return.
"It is what it is, it's a team game," said Berube on Stolarz's new timeline.
The exact moment he endured the injury remains unclear with speculation pointing to the first Anaheim goal when he visibly showed discomfort. Stolarz has exceeded all expectations for the Leafs this season, boasting a 9-5-2 record with a 2.15 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in his first season in Toronto.
It’s the first injury for Stolarz in the 2024-25 campaign as he currently sits 11 games shy of his career high for games played (28). For now, Joseph Woll and the recall of Dennis Hildeby are manning the crease for Toronto. With the new timeline of four to six weeks for Stolarz, the Woll/Hildeby tandem will have more responsibility heading into the new year as the Leafs continue to maneuver a busy schedule.
With Stolarz out, the Leafs and captain Auston Matthews expressed confidence in the team's goaltending depth, praising Woll and Hildeby with a next-man-up mentality.
"I mean I think it's pretty high," said Matthews referencing the team's confidence in goaltending. "Joe has been great for us and the Beast has been solid when he's been up and had to play. I think we have a lot of confidence in our goalies. Obviously hope the best for Stolie, he's been great for us all year but obviously guys on forward or defense side of it, guys get injured, guys got to step up."
