Maple Leafs reportedly sign two players off Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers as NHL free agency begins
Minutes after NHL free agent market opened, Leafs agree to deals with defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz.
The NHL free agent market hadn’t even been open for five minutes before reports surfaced the Maple Leafs had signed a pair of players from the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers: Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and goalie Anthony Stolarz.
Ekman-Larsson, a veteran puck-moving defenceman, signed a four-year deal at $3.5 million a year. The 32-year-old had nine goals, 23 assists for Florida in a career-reviving season. He’s reunited with Leafs GM Brad Treliving, part of the management group that drafted him in Phoenix sixth overall in 2009.
Stolarz, 30, has been a career backup but might see more action with the Leafs than the career-high 28 games he saw with the 2021-22 Anaheim Ducks. The six-foot-six goalie posted a .925 save percentage as Sergei Bobrovsky’s back up. He signed a two-year deal at $2.5 million a year.
The Leafs also re-signed goalie Matt Murray to a one-year deal for $875,000. Murray missed the entire season due to hip surgery. The Leafs used three goalies last year: Woll, Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones.
Meanwhile, there were also multiple reports that Tyler Bertuzzi is leaving the Leafs for the Chicago Blackhawks for a four-year deal, with an annual average value of $5.5 million.
