Anthony Stolarz signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. It begins next season and has an average annual value of $3.75 million.
The 31-year-old goalie missed nearly two months last season while recovering from knee surgery. He played an NHL career-high 34 games (33 starts) and went 21-8-3 with a 2.14 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and four shutouts.
“It’s exciting for sure,” Stolarz said in a video posted by the Maple Leafs. “It was something I wanted to wrap up before the season starts. I’m very excited to be a part of the Maple Leafs organization for the next few years here, and I’m looking forward to getting the season started.”
It’s the first NHL contract Stolarz has signed that is longer than two years.
“I think that’s kind of the goal for every player in this league,” Stolarz told NHL.com last week. “You know, it’s tough to make it, but it’s even tougher to stay. I’ve obviously learned that throughout my career. I’ve been on waivers a few times, I’ve been traded, so for me to be able to potentially call a place home for more than a year or two would be huge for me.
“I’ll let my agent kind of work things out. I will say we’ve had some good talks, but once the season starts, I kind of just want to focus on that and just worry about our end goal, which is the Stanley Cup.”
A second-round pick (No. 45) by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2012 NHL Draft, Stolarz is 64-39-12 with a 2.55 GAA, .918 save percentage and 12 shutouts in 142 regular-season games (116 starts) with the Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Ducks, Panthers and Maple Leafs, and 4-2 with a 2.43 GAA and an .894 save percentage in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games (seven starts).
Toronto plays its season opener on Oct. 8 against the Montreal Canadiens.
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report