The Edmonton Oilers have had questions in their crease for years, and now some fans are pointing towards a former goalie the team let go of as a potential mistake.
The Oilers acquired Anthony Stolarz when he was 25 years old in a trade that sent Cam Talbot to the Philadelphia Flyers. Stolarz had some promise as a young goaltender, but Edmonton only played him in 6 games before relinquishing his rights as a free agent. At the time, Ken Hitchcock only needed to play Stolarz 4 more times for him to be under team control - but the Oilers started Koskinen and missed their playoff push anyway.
Stolarz ended up signing with the Anaheim Ducks and spending the Covid seasons bouncing between the NHL and AHL. He began to have his breakout season just two years after leaving Edmonton, posting an incredible .917 save percentage with the Anaheim Ducks in 2021-22. Stolarz then won the Cup with the Panthers on a team that he started 27 games for, and now has joined the Toronto Maple Leafs as a starting goalie for the first time in his career. With the Leafs, Stolarz is looking like a lights out goaltender so far.
What makes this an actual mistake from the Oilers is the fact that Stolarz profiled as a high-end goalie when he was in Edmonton, and the organization was vocally surprised about how good he was. According to a blog post from the Oil Rig, Hitchcock and the Oilers were extremely high on Stolarz, and the organization was aware that he was one of the few goalies who posted positive goals above expected over his NHL career.
During his Oiler tenure, Stolarz really only had the one poor appearance, which came in relief against St. Louis. The lack of trust from the coaching staff did not match the results. Hitchcock even had multiple quotes pointing out that he was surprised how good Stolarz was
- The Oil Rig
NHL goaltenders are extremely difficult to predict, and starting goalies seem to often develop late in their career out of nowhere. Stolarz wasn't one of these players - he had quality attributes that made the Oilers interested in him, only to throw him away for 4 more games of Mikko Koskinen. Even if the Oilers re-signed him as an RFA, he would've been quality goalie depth the team needed.
It's not for sure yet that Stolarz will be able to maintain his level of success in an elevated role, but as a starting goalie for the Leafs, his value could skyrocket this season into star status.
So far this year, Stuart Skinner has been off to a slow start, being the second worst goalie the NHL by Goals Saved Above Expected. Earlier today, NHL goalie analyst Steve Valiquette actually said he believes the Oilers can not win with Skinner.
We'll have to see how the year shakes out for Stolarz, but what already looked like a mistake may turn out to be even worse for the Oilers. Fans want their hometown boy Skinner to be the starter, but if he continues to struggle, Edmonton will have to make a change.
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