Red Wings' Original Six rivals locker room erupts with rifts just two weeks into the NHL regular season
Photo credit: NHL
Detroit Red Wings' Original Six rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, have already undergone a major rift within the organization, and now, the locker room is heating up.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender, Anthony Stolarz, had an immense amount of reasons to be frustrated following his team enduring a 4-3 loss against the Seattle Kraken.
And he was evidently unimpressed by the lack of effort his teammates offered him during the matchup.
During the game, Stolarz was thrown to the ground and left to fend for himself.
Take a look:
Following the incident, Stolarz didn't shy away from speaking about it, even clearly pointing fingers directly at star forward, William Nylander, at one point during his statement.
"I mean a lot of guys have been here for a while," said Stolarz. "Overtime you can't let someone beat you up the ice there. It's a clear cut breakaway, a minute left, you wanna be on the ice in that situation you gotta work hard."
Although Stolarz never mentioned Nylander by name, there was no mistaking who he was speaking of, given how the overtime winner for the Kraken played out.
However, following the altercation, both Auston Matthews and William Nylander broke their silence and made it clear that there are no hard feelings.
Auston Matthews and William Nylander make it clear there are no hard feelings against Stolarz
"We're a veteran group," said Matthews on Monday. "We're all big boys. You don't need to beat around the bush. It's an easy conversation we all had and you just move on, close the door ... We gotta be better and we will be."
"It's all good," said Nylander. "Look, we're teammates. He's a great guy. There's nothing that we need to, you know, talk about here. Yeah, he talked to me after & it's all good. It's been no issue since."
Stolarz then commented on the subject again, revealing all is well.
"I pulled Willy aside and we had a conversation," revealed Stolarz. "He's someone I admire & someone I respect deeply. There's a reason he's been in this league for so long. He's a hell of a player. He pushes me and I push him."
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