Maud Rise, is a seamount in the Southern Weddell Sea where open-ocean polynyas occasionally occur. Polynyas are large openings in sea ice that form in winter in association with deep ocean convection. In winter, freezing waters are found in the mixed layer and warmer deep waters lie below the pycnocline. Destratification of the water column enables the mixing of heat into the mixed layer and is required for the formation and sustenance of polynyas. Open-ocean polynyas are rare formations that can disrupt the conventional abyssal overturning circulation pathways and affect the heat and carbon budget of the region. Maud Rise lies in the path of the eastern limb of the Weddell Gyre, which is the main source of salt and heat in this region. We use satellite-based altimetry and ocean state estimates to study how variability in the eastern Weddell Gyre inflow impacted stratification around Maud Rise via the transport of salt anomalies. Salinity predominantly controls stratification in polar waters. We find that reduction in the eastern inflow induced sub-surface freshening in the years leading to the most recent polynya in 2017. Remotely advected sub-surface salinity anomalies control the region's stratification on interannual time scales, and thus influence how much heat and salt is stored below the pycnocline. The inflowing limb of the eastern Weddell Gyre responds to tropical Pacific and Southern Ocean climate variability via atmospheric teleconnections.