2 weeks Ago By The Hockey News - Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season in 2024-25, but several of their former players are currently in the thick of it with their current teams.Two of their former goaltenders, Anthony Stolarz and Frederik Andersen, have helped lead the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively, to commanding 2-0 series leads.Stolie the GoalieAfter winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season, Stolarz signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Leafs during the summer of 2024.
The Leafs needed a reliable option to work in tandem with Joseph Woll, whose injury history remained a concern. Pairing Stolarz with Woll allowed the Leafs to have two dependable goaltenders in the event of injury or a drop in form from one or the other.Though Stolarz suffered an injury in mid-December which required surgery and rules him out for six weeks, he was absolute nails for the Leafs upon his return in February, going 12-3-1 with a .
924 SV% to finish out the season. Per MoneyPuck, he also had a 20.8 goals saved above expected.
Through the first two games of the Leafs’ playoff series against the Ottawa Senators, Stolarz has stopped 57 of 61 shots. He has been a commanding presence in net all season long for the Leafs and that hasn’t changed going into the playoffs. Several big stops kept the Leafs either even or ahead in both games.
Per Sportsnet Stats, Stolarz is 10-0-0 with .947 SV%, 1.48 GAA and three shutouts in his last 10 starts dating back to the regular season.
Not too shabby.Steady FreddieAndersen has proven time and time again that he is a starting-caliber goaltender in the NHL. The main concern for him has always been his ability to stay healthy.
The last time he started more than 30 games in a season was in 2022-23. He has started just 38 games total since then.Andersen’s prolonged absences have coincided with the emergence of Pyotr Kochetkov, Andersen’s current counterpart.
However, in both previous seasons, Andersen has held control of the net going into the playoffs. Kochetkov has appeared in just two playoff games since the 2022-23 season.This season, a strong March followed by a shaky finish to the regular season in April from both goaltenders raised questions about which one would start Game 1 against the New Jersey Devils.
Head coach Rod Brind'Amour had rotated Andersen (when healthy) and Kochetkov for starts throughout the season. Ultimately, Andersen got the nod and made 23 saves in a 4-1 win.Andersen was given the nod for Game 2 as well, the first time all season that he had started consecutive games.
He made several key stops, finishing with 25 saves en route to his 40th career playoff victory.The Ducks were never going to be able to keep Andersen or Stolarz. After several seasons with the team that drafted him, the emergence of John Gibson made trading Andersen—a restricted free agent at the time—to the Leafs in 2016 a logical decision.
Stolarz’s path to a starting job was ironically blocked by Gibson when the former signed with the Ducks in 2019 and emerged as a capable option during the 2021-22 season. Arthroscopic knee surgery in March 2023 would end Stolarz’s tenure with the Ducks prematurely.Almost a decade after the Andersen trade, Gibson remains while the rise of Lukáš Dostál has provided the Ducks with an option capable of taking over the mantle.
They certainly won’t be kicking themselves over moving on from two goalies who have also found success elsewhere.Why Now was the Right Time for the Ducks to Part with CroninChallenges, Opportunities for Anaheim Ducks Next Head Coach.
