Dave Feschuk: How does the Maple Leafs’ goalie rotation work with Anthony Stolarz outplaying Sergei Bobrovsky? Coach Hiller explains - Toronto Star

Early disparity in the Leafs net raises questions about deferring to the more decorated ex-Panther.

 Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz poke checks ex-Leaf Jacob Quillan of the Canucks in Saturday’s game in Vancouver.

Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @dfeschuk

If you were strictly selecting the hottest goaltender in Leafland to start Tuesday’s home game against the Utah Mammoth, the choice would be a no-brainer.

Start with the fact Sergei Bobrovsky has won just three of his 10 starts this season and Anthony Stolarz has won five of six. For a lot of teams, that would be more than enough to give Stolarz the nod in the next game. But not the Maple Leafs. Not right now.

For now Bobrovsky, who is Toronto’s No. 1 by career accomplishment and size of contract, will remain Toronto’s No. 1. He’ll start Tuesday, no matter that Stolarz has played better.

“We have a plan,” head coach Jim Hiller said after Monday’s practice in Etobicoke. “We look at the schedule. It’s long, there are different factors: rest, workload, a lot of different considerations. It’s something we discuss and then make a decision based on what we’ve laid out, and we move forward.”

What the Leafs have laid out, Hiller said, is a big-picture plan apparently built to avoid overreacting to the whims of the moment.

“There’s always flexibility, but you look at the schedule in the summer and start to lay it out: talk to the goalies, talk to everybody,” Hiller said. “So (the goaltending plan has) been laid out for quite some time.”

A shot by Kraken defenceman Ryker Evans beats Maple Leafs goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period of Wednesday’s game in Seattle.

Fair enough. As Hiller rightly pointed on the weekend, wins are not an individual stat.

“It really takes everyone to win; the goaltender himself doesn’t do it,” Hiller said.

For all that, the disparity in the form of Toronto’s goaltending tandem goes beyond wins, and there are many wondering how long the team will defer to Bobrovsky in spite of it.

At least one old saying might tell you the answer: play the money. Bobrovsky, who signed a three-year deal worth an annual average of $7 million (U.S.), is on the richer contract. Stolarz is in the first season of a four-year deal worth $3.75 million annually. So there’s that.

There’s also the fact Bobrovsky is a two-time Vezina Trophy winner with two Stanley Cup rings and a notoriously slow starter. The Leafs can hope the turn of the calendar brings a turn of fortune. The goaltender’s career save percentage in October is .903, his lowest of any month. In November, it’s a significantly sturdier .912. So nobody paying attention is writing him off.

“He’s one of the more battle-tested guys in this league,” said Stolarz, who was Bobrovsky’s backup with the Florida Panthers when they won the 2024 Stanley Cup. “He’s played in three Stanley Cup finals, an Olympics … I’ve seen him at his best, and he’s one hell of a goalie. The way he works day in and day out, the proof is in the pudding. He’ll get back on track and be coming up big for us going forward.”

Still, about a fifth of the way into the 84-game season, Stolarz’s stats are superior to his teammate’s. Of the 53 NHL goaltenders who had played at least five games heading into Monday’s slate, Stolarz’s .910 save percentage ranked 11th; Bobrovsky’s .885 was 35th. Bobrovsky has allowed three or more goals in nine of his 10 starts, and five in his most recent outing, a Wednesday loss in Seattle. Stolarz has allowed two or fewer in four of his six assignments, including an ongoing three-game personal win streak that continued in Saturday’s 4-2 win in Vancouver.

It’s enough for even a team with big-picture plans to at least consider a course correction.

“You’re always re-evaluating whatever the plan is, always giving input,” Hiller said. “There are good discussions, you reach a consensus, and then ultimately someone has to make the final call. But you take in all perspectives.”

If there’s one thing keeping the Leafs from giving Stolarz more here-and-now work, it’s undoubtedly this. If Stolarz continues to play even at this rate, with six starts every 16 games, he’ll be on pace for 31 this season; his career high is 33. In each of the previous two seasons in Toronto, his availability has been limited by injury more than ability. At age 32, it’s hard to imagine he’s going to suddenly morph into a more durable workhorse.

Bobrovsky, by contrast, has been among the most reliable performers in the league. In his previous five seasons with the Panthers he averaged 53 regular-season starts, seventh-most in the league, never mind that he tacked on 79 playoff starts over that span. It’s no coincidence Bobrovsky, at 38, is on pace to start 53 times this season.

That’s the simplest reason to explain why big-picture concerns are trumping the considerable discrepancy in the early-season form of Toronto’s goaltenders.

“I can appreciate the questions, but we haven’t talked about it nearly as much as you guys have,” he said, speaking of the media. “I’ve talked about it more today than in the last two weeks with our coaches and management.”

No matter how little the Leafs allegedly talk about their choice of starters, the conversation figures to continue beyond the dressing-room walls. Only Bobrovsky can make it stop by making more stops.

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Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

Dave Feschuk is a Toronto-based sports columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @dfeschuk