Neuroscientist expresses concern about how Stolarz injury situation was handled

By Canadian Press on May 7, 2025.

TORONTO — Much of the debate in the aftermath of Anthony Stolarz’s departure from the Maple Leafs’ series opener against Florida centred around whether Panthers forward Sam Bennett should have been disciplined for elbowing the Toronto goaltender.

A renowned neuroscientist, however, said one of his main concerns lies with how the player’s injury situation was handled Monday night at Scotiabank Arena.

“Stolarz was hit in the head twice where he exhibited possible signs of concussion and neither time was he removed and assessed,” said Chris Nowinski, chief executive officer of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a player vomiting on the ice, but it makes you very concerned about what was happening in his brain and whether (he) not only had a concussion, but a possible brain bleed.

“And I assume the team was concerned enough and that’s why he was (taken) to the hospital.”

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Wednesday that Stolarz, who had been released from hospital, was recovering but wouldn’t play in Game 2.

The netminder’s mask came off in the first period of Toronto’s 5-4 victory when he stopped a shot by Sam Reinhart. Stolarz appeared to shake his head before putting the mask back on and resuming play.

In the second period, he was elbowed in the head as Bennett – who was not penalized on the play – skated through the crease area. Stolarz immediately grabbed his head as he fell to the ice.

A few minutes later, during a television timeout, replays showed Stolarz leaning over the boards and vomiting into a bucket. He left the game midway through the period and was replaced by Joseph Woll.

“A second brain injury after an initial brain injury is understood to make the injury far worse,” Nowinski, speaking in general terms, said from Boynton Beach, Fla. “It’s not one plus one equals two, it can be one plus one equals five.

“You have chemical metabolic changes in the brain that make your brain less resilient to the next injury. That’s the main motivation why we have return-to-play protocol.”

According to the NHL/NHLPA’s concussion and evaluation protocol, the identification and removal of a player who requires an acute evaluation for possible concussion is a club-level responsibility.

The team physician is “solely responsible” for making the diagnosis of concussion and determining when an athlete may return to play. To assist teams, league spotters – both in- and out-of-venue – also observe players’ behaviour during games to identify those who exhibit visible signs of a possible concussion.

In an email, a Maple Leafs team spokesman said “spotters were not involved” in Stolarz’s departure from the game. It wasn’t immediately clear who made the decision for him to leave the ice.

As is common during the playoffs, the club has not revealed injury specifics. After Stolarz was replaced, the team said he was “being evaluated” but did not confirm media reports that he left the arena on a stretcher.

Another area of concern for Nowinski was that Stolarz performed a spontaneous head shake after his mask flew off.

When that movement is exhibited, athletes reported they had a concussion 72 per cent of the time, according to a study Nowinski co-authored that was published last October in the journal “Diagnostics.”

“The head shake earlier in the game followed by a blow to the head that causes an athlete to collapse face down could increase someone’s suspicion that a concussion has occurred,” Nowinski said. “Either independently with the second impact or cumulatively with both. And there’s no question he should have been removed and assessed after the second (incident).

“The fact that he was left out there (to) vomit in front of the entire world shows that the NHL was not conservative enough in their decision of how to execute their protocol.”

Messages left with the NHL and the NHLPA were not immediately returned.

Stolarz played all six games in Toronto’s first-round series win over Ottawa, posting a 2.21 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

He stopped eight of nine shots before leaving the game. Woll made 17 saves in relief.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press