The injury bug continues to plague the Toronto Maple Leafs. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto’s star goalie this year, left the game after the first period in the Leaf’s Thursday night win over the Anaheim Ducks. During Friday’s practice, coach Craig Berube officially classified him as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, telling Jonas Siegal of The Athletic that “it was good news overall”.
The Leafs recalled goaltender Dennis Hildeby from the Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis. With some luck, he won’t spend too much time with the big team but is expected to start one of the Leafs two games this weekend. They play in Detroit on Saturday and host Buffalo on Sunday so expect to see Hildeby between the pipes at least once.
Actual depth?
For the first time in a long while, the Leafs seem to have actual depth at the goaltending position. After Ilya Samsonov’s significant reversion last year, Toronto signed Stanley Cup Champion Anthony Stolarz to a two-year $2.5M contract. He compliments the internally developed Joseph Woll who, despite injuries, has looked more than solid in the NHL. Together, they have given the Leafs bona-fide top-tier goaltending, combining for a league best .921 SV%.
Complementing the Leafs, the Toronto Marlies have also been the recipient of good goaltending. Dennis Hildeby, Artur Akhtyamov, and the currently-injured Matt Murray have combined for a .914 SV% over 20 games.
Matt Murray has been good, with a 2–1–2 record, .912 SV%, and a GAA of 2.42. He’s still working on returning from bilateral hip surgery, which resulted in him playing only three AHL games all of last season. The Leafs still have some faith in him, having signed a one-year, $875K extension this offseason. Included in that contract is a $100K bonus to mitigate the risk of Murray being claimed on waivers. This most recent injury is certainly another setback in a truly injury-riddled career.
The prospects
Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov are the top two goalie prospects in the Leafs system. We at 6ix On Ice listed them as the sixth and seventh-ranked prospects respectively.
Both fourth-round picks, Akhtyamov was taken 106th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and Hildeby 122nd in the 2022 NHL Draft. Both are the same age, 23, born in 2001 (don’t think about that too hard).
Hideby is a giant standing at 6’7” and listed at 223lbs. His height does come with some athleticism and maneuverability tradeoffs but his efficiency is usually enough to make up for it.
Conversely, Akhtyamov is much smaller standing at a minuscule 6’1” (this is a joke, or is it). He makes up for his stature with significant athleticism and positioning himself a little further out of the net. However, this does sometimes cause him to be out of position or “swim” in his crease.
Hildeby is coming off his first full North American professional season, one in which he had great success. In 41 games in the 2023–24 AHL season with the Toronto Marlies the rookie had a sixth-best 2.41 GAA and a .913 SV%, for a 21–11–7 record.
This season is Akhtyamov’s rookie year in North America, having spent the last few years in Russia. He has been spectacular so far, boasting a .929 SV% and a 1.84 GAA for an 8–0–1 record. He has been one of the top goalies in the AHL in his first nine appearances, something Leafs fans can get very excited about.
Why call up Hildeby?
Hildeby has been called up to the big team twice this year, with minimal success. In two games to cover for the injured Woll to start the season, he went 1–1 with an .869 SV%. The Leafs are likely capitalizing on Hildeby’s experience in North America, as well as his size translating better to the NHL.
Craig Berube confirmed this during practice on Friday saying “[Hildeby]’s got a lot of ability and he’s obviously a big man. If we’ve got to use him, we have confidence for sure.”
Fortunately, the Leafs defence has been a highlight for the team this year, hopefully providing some additional security in front of the young netminder. Furthermore, both Detroit and Buffalo are bottom teams in the league, giving the Leafs a bit more flexibility in which game to start Hildeby.
Letting Akhtyamov remain in the AHL continues his development while maintaining consistency, which is important for a young player in a brand-new continent. Additionally, using Hildeby in limited and protected contexts in the NHL could expose him to the next tier of professional hockey, while not overburdening him with responsibility.
While another injury certainly can’t be treated as good news, luckily it doesn’t sound like Stolarz’s issue is too severe. And, in a complete break from recent tradition, the Leafs actually have enough depth at the goaltending position that an injury to our starter doesn’t immediately doom the team.
Stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Elite Prospects.
