Generally speaking, the Toronto Maple Leafs may not have a ton to play for the rest of this season. For goaltenders Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz, it’s a completely different story.

Once again, it’s been an up-and-down season for Toronto’s goaltending tandem, as both Woll and Stolarz haven’t been able to grab their reigns and run with the number-one position. Add in some untimely injuries and the team’s defensive struggles, it’s been a rough season in the Maple Leafs’ crease.

Stolarz heads into the weekend’s action appearing in just 21 games, posting a 7-9-3 record, along with a 3.40 goals against average, and .890 save percentage. Statistically, you could argue it’s been the worst season of his career, and certainly a long way away from where the organization felt he’d be after extending the 32-year-old on a four-year contract. Stolarz’s extension doesn’t kick in until next season and sees his AAV jump up to $3.75 million. Stolarz will also have his 16-team no-trade list kick in come July, which certainly complicates things a little bit when it comes to general manager Brad Treliving’s options, or whoever is running the team this upcoming offseason.

Woll, on the other hand, has seen action in 32 contests through the Leafs first 66 games, registering a 14-11-4 record, along with a 3.09 GAA and .905 Sv.%. While there’s been plenty of unfortunate moments and outcomes this season, Woll continues to be one of the rare bright spots for the organization, which has some people wondering what kind of return he could fetch on the trade market this summer. Woll’s five years younger than Stolarz at 27, and his $3.6 million AAV contract through 2027-28 season is certainly appealing to other teams, but you could argue it should be more appealing to the Maple Leafs.

Throw in AHL goaltenders Dennis Hildeby, who’s shown he’s more than capable of playing at the NHL level, and fellow 24-year-old Artur Akhtyamov, who has a career 28-18-8 record with the Toronto Marlies and it’s obvious the Leafs best organizational depth may be at their goaltending position. So, it makes complete sense for the team to explore a trade to try and balance out their top six forwards, or find an offensive defenceman, who can run a power play, and join the rush more frequently than their current core of blueliners. The question becomes – who will be the odd man out?

Stolarz and Woll should be feeling this pressure down the stretch of this season. It’s very likely they’ll essentially split duties with the remaining games and be given a chance to end the season on high notes, but that’s when the question will present itself on what exactly Treliving and company should consider. There’s going to be a few teams looking to make changes in net this summer, and besides Minnesota Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt, and Montreal Canadiens’ Samuel Montembeault, there likely won’t be a ton of goaltenders available via trade. This should work in Treliving’s advantage and if it doesn’t, perhaps the Leafs need to consider upper management changes, and not necessarily be looking at their crease for changes.

Time is ticking on what’s turned into a dismal, and disappointing Maple Leafs’ 2025-2026 season. Regardless, for Stolarz and Woll, this last month of the season could shape their future with the organization.

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