OAKVILLE, Ontario -- When the Toronto Maple Leafs begin the 2024-25 season, the most noticeable changes to the team will be on defense and in goal.
Among the additions, there are two common themes: size and experience.
In addition to the 6-foot-2, 191-pound Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who signed a four-year contract, the Maple Leafs added defensemen Chris Tanev (6-2, 193) on a six-year contract and Jani Hakanpaa (6-7, 222) on a one-year contract, and goalie Anthony Stolarz (6-6, 243) on a two-year contract.
Each addition also possesses recent Stanley Cup Playoff experience. Though Hakanpaa’s knee injury and ensuing arthroscopic surgery ended his season with the Dallas Stars in March last season, forcing him to miss the playoffs, he and Tanev each were with the Stars when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. The season before, Hakanpaa played 15 playoff games for Dallas, which lost in Game 6 of the conference final to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ekman-Larsson and Stolarz each won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season.
Forward Max Pacioretty (6-2, 217), who will attend Maple Leafs camp on a professional tryout, has been to the conference final three times in his career, twice with the Vegas Golden Knights (2020, 2021) and once with the Montreal Canadiens (2014).
“Hopefully (that Stanley Cup Playoff experience will bring) a lot,” defenseman Ekman-Larsson said at the Leafs & Legends Charity Golf Classic on Monday. “I think that’s why they brought us in. It’s nice knowing when you have gone through something like that, you can kind of bring it with you and, yeah, kind of let the guys see how hard you work every day and how hard it is to win a Cup and have that experience and share it with your teammates. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”