The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a slow start this season, and star goalie Anthony Stolarz didn’t hold back in expressing his frustration with the team.
After Toronto’s overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, Stolarz openly called out teammate William Nylander and the rest of the squad for their lack of effort. He was particularly disappointed that Nylander didn’t backcheck on the overtime winner, which led to a clear breakaway against the Leafs. Additionally, Stolarz voiced his frustration over an incident where he was run into by Mason Marchment, and no one on the team stepped up to protect him.
Speaking to the media after the October 18th game, Stolarz said, “A lot of guys have been here for a while. (In) overtime, you can’t let someone beat you up the ice there, gets a clear-cut breakaway. A minute left, you want to be on the ice in that situation. You got to work hard, got to work back and cost us a point there. At the end of the day, it’s about working hard, and when we work hard, the results come.”
Stolarz, who was with the team last year and saw how far they could go, emphasized the team’s potential. “The potential is there, we have the skill, we have the grit, we have the grind. It’s just frustrating that we can’t put it together right now. Even though it’s six games into the season, enough’s enough. We gotta start picking it up here. How many points are we going to leave out there?”
Despite the harsh words, Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving responded to Stolarz’s comments understandingly. He told The Athletic, “He was frustrated after a loss. Emotion is good. He talked to his teammates, and we have competitive guys so it’s really not a big deal. It gets play in the media that gets blown out of proportion. It’s nothing more than, ‘Let’s get going.’ I like that our guys are competitive.”
While some critics felt that Stolarz should have addressed his concerns privately, Treliving didn’t see it as a major issue. However, since the comments, the Maple Leafs have continued to struggle. Following a 5-2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils, Toronto is gearing up for a home-and-home series against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, Flyers head coach Craig Berube weighed in, expressing a preference for players to keep frustrations within the locker room. “Listen, it happens a lot,” Berube said. “It’s happened over years and years. Players get frustrated and sometimes they say things that they [should] just keep in the room. That’s all. But it’s over with.”
Currently, the Maple Leafs sit with a 3-3-1 record as they look to turn the season around. The upcoming games against the Sabres will be crucial in determining if the team can start to live up to their potential and end the slow start.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Maple Leafs as they continue their season.
https://heavy.com/sports/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/treliving-sends-message-anthony-stolarz/