Leafs appear destined to lose players on waivers during training camp

Nothing beats a nice obvious title for a Saturday morning. The last few years have certainly gotten the Leafs used to the fact that every waiver trip is a 50/50 chance that the player will actually find their way to the Marlies. Jimmy Vesey, Adam Brooks, Mika Amadio and even years before the claims of Curtis McElihenney and Calvin Pickard’s waivers have decimated the Leafs’ goalie depth. Waivers are a part of life when you’re the big dog team with deep pockets and the young GM trying to do something different.

That brings us to this year, and heading into camp it’s probably easiest to start with the ones that can’t be claimed by waivers. This list includes all players still on entry-level contracts, including Nick Robertson, Nick Abruzzese, Alex Steeves and Pontus Holmberg. In addition to the entry-level players, the Leafs’ goaltendership looks secure this round, with both Joseph Woll and Erik Kallgren still able to clear waivers. So that’s at least a bit of a load off your head.

The list is quite long and we’re going to split them into a few different groups based on their likelihood of being enacted and likelihood of being claimed.

Probably enacted, probably unclaimed

• Mac Hollowell might be an intriguing attacking defenseman at the AHL level in the eyes of some scouts, but it’s hard to imagine any team seeing him ready for a spin in the NHL. That could change if he has breakout training camp for the Leafs, but the far more likely situation is that he forgoes it and reports to the Marlies without fanfare.
• Carl Dahlstrom is one of the few Leafs/Marlies to easily travel the waiver wire last season, and that seems unlikely to change now that it’s clear he doesn’t really have much to offer the Leafs in the NHL AHL despite being solid in the NHL.

Likely to be waived, could possibly be enforced

• Denis Malgin’s strong showing at the Ice Hockey World Championships and strong numbers in the Swiss league could get him some attention and if he has a decent training camp that would certainly attract interest. He is cheap and can play in the lineup if needed.
• Kyle Clifford is pretty far down in forward depth at this point and the idea of ​​him somehow making the Leafs is a stretch and seems contingent on multiple injuries. The fact that he is under contract beyond this year could be the biggest deterrent to a lawsuit.
• Joey Anderson is one player I still want to believe will step up and take the Leafs fourth line out of training camp. Wishful thinking aside, there’s probably a market in the NHL for a young energy player with an unknown potential.
• Adam Gaudette seems to have every opportunity to make the Leafs, but the addition of Zach Aston-Reese on a PTO complicates that.
• Victor Mete is a player who will generate a lot of interest and should be avoided in an attempt to make his mark in the AHL. There’s likely interest, especially as defensive injuries are piling up in the league and Mete could be a good player to be without early in camp and the Leafs can know if they have him or not before trying to get him develop.
• Jordie Benn looks destined for the Marlies, too, unless Toronto magically finds enough cap space to carry a 7th D. Given Benn’s plug-and-play style, any team that’s hit at depth will be at least a little interested in being a household name.

It is unlikely that this will be waived, it could possibly be enforced

• Wayne Simmonds falls into this category as he faces stiff competition for his fourth row role on the way to training camp. There are a lot of things Simmonds is doing that no one else in the Leafs roster was willing to do, but they weren’t an organizational priority.
• Nicholas Aube-Kubel is another unlikely name that fits into this category. If things just don’t go the way the Leafs and NAK planned, both sides could cut losses early.
• Justin Holl. Why not end it with the least likely option and that is the player most likely to join the team or be traded or generally treated as an asset. A waiver of Holl would result in Rasmus Sandin being signed and no trade option available. Giving up Holl creates some room on the cap (his AAV of over $1.125M remains on the cap) and at least gives the Leafs an opportunity to hold Justin as a depth. It is also just as likely that he will be claimed.

Who’s not likely to be waived and who’s not likely to be claimed, let’s call that the roster.

The Leafs are currently sitting on 48 standard player contracts out of the allotment of 50. If Toronto signs Sandin and Aston-Reese, they’ll be maxed out. Losing some players to waivers may not be the end of the world as it introduces some in-season roster flexibility.

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