TORONTO -- Anthony Stolarz will have a procedure on his knee and be out 4-6 weeks, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said Tuesday.
The goalie was injured during the first period of a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and was replaced by Joseph Woll to start the second period.
Treliving said an MRI on Friday revealed no structural damage, but a “loose body” was discovered behind Stolarz's knee that was affecting his ability to straighten his leg.
“He’s going to have a procedure to have that removed,” Treliving said. “It’s not a repair or anything of that nature but they are going to remove that loose body. It looks like a little pebble. … I would anticipate we are looking in the 4-6 week range, hopefully sooner rather than later.
“Obviously you don’t want to see anybody out, especially a goaltender who has been playing well like that. But it has to be addressed, and we are going to get it addressed.”
Stolarz will have the procedure in New York on Wednesday.
The injury is not related to any issue Stolarz has dealt with in the past. He had procedures in 2017 to repair a torn right MCL and a torn left meniscus.
“It’s not a reoccurrence,” Treliving said. “It’s not uncommon for players to have little loose chips … it’s in the wrong spot. We waited for a few days to see if it would move, but it doesn’t allow him to get full range of motion with his leg right now so it has to be removed.
“Hopefully they just go in, remove and he’s on his way to recovery.”
Stolarz is 9-5-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and one shutout in 17 games this season.
Trelving expressed confidence in Woll and Dennis Hildeby while Stolarz is out. The Maple Leafs also have Matt Murray and Artur Akhtyamov playing with Toronto of the American Hockey League.
“I’ve got lots of confidence in our group,” Treliving said. “Joseph has played extremely well. This is nothing new for us; we’ve been dealing with some injuries and that’s why we’ve got depth at all the positions. Joe and Anthony have been tremendous as a pair for us, but we’ve got Dennis and Matt and ‘Double A’ down there, so we feel we’ve got some depth at the position and this is why we have it.”
Woll is 8-4-0 with a 2.24 GAA, .918 save percentage and one shutout in 12 games (11 starts); Hildeby is 2-1-0 with a 3.68 GAA and an .875 save percentage in three games.
The Maple Leafs have three sets of back-to-back games coming in the next three weeks.
“I’m confident,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “Woll has played really well this year. Hildeby has come in and won us two games and played pretty well. It is what it is. It’s a team game.
“We’ve got a lot of back-to-backs coming up, so we are going to need both of them.”
