TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without Anthony Stolarz for a period of four to six weeks, general manager Brad Treliving announced Tuesday.
The goaltender, who missed the last two games after being injured in a game against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, will undergo minor knee surgery.
Treliving said an MRI performed Friday showed no structural damage, but a small mass was found behind his knee, which made it difficult for him to stretch his leg as far as possible.
“He’s going to have an operation to remove it,” Treliving said. You don’t have to fix anything, but they’re going to remove this mass, it looks like a small clot. For now, we will re-evaluate it on a weekly basis. I expect to be away for four to six weeks, hoping to see him again sooner rather than later. We obviously never want to see a player sit out, especially a goalkeeper who was playing as well as he was. But he needs to fix this problem, and we’re going to fix it now. »
Stolarz will go under the knife on Wednesday in New York.
This injury is not related to others suffered by Stolarz in the past. Stolarz underwent procedures in 2017 to repair a torn right medial collateral ligament and a torn meniscus in his left knee.
“It’s not the return of an old injury,” assured Treliving. It’s still common for players to have small masses like that. It is simply housed in the wrong place. We waited for a few players to see if she would move on her own, but right now it’s not giving him full freedom of movement in his right leg, so it needs to be removed. »
Stolarz is in his first campaign with the Maple Leafs after signing a two-year contract as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He has a 9-5-2 record with a 2.15 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and one shutout in 17 games.
Dennis Hildeby was recalled from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies on Friday, and he got the start Sunday in a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres. He assisted Joseph Woll in a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
The Maple Leafs will play three sets of two games in two nights between now and January 5. Coach Craig Berube said the team is still trying to determine how they will handle their goaltending between now and then.
“I’m confident,” Berube said. Woll has played very well this year. Hildeby has already been recalled and he scored two wins for us while playing very well. It’s a team sport.
“We’re often going to play twice in two nights, so we’re going to need both of our goalies. »
