Anthony Stolarz Lands on LTIR for Maple Leafs, But There's No Need to Panic

Ahead of Saturday's morning skate, the Leafs announced that Connor Dewar had been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 20th.

In a corresponding move, the Leafs also recalled Nikita Grebenkin from the Toronto Marlies. However, due to the Leafs not having enough cap space, they also placed Stolarz on LTIR to create the necessary room to have Grebenkin on the roster.

According to PuckPedia , by placing the 31-year-old on LTIR, the Leafs have $2.04M in cap space available after recalling Grebenkin.

Fans shouldn't panic, however, as Stolarz can be activated at any time from LTIR, given that he has already missed the minimum 10 games and 24 days under the CBA rules that would provide him with the necessary eligibility to return.

As Darren Dreger reported on Thursday, Stolarz is expected to return to the lineup within the next week, which is good news for the Maple Leafs given the struggles of the Leafs' goaltending during the absence of the former Stanley Cup champion.

Signed to a two-year deal by the Leafs days after winning the Cup, Stolarz had been in the early Vézina candidate conversation prior to his surgery. In 17 games before suffering the injury, Stolarz was 9-5-2 with a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage and one shutout.