Maple Leafs opening night lineup taking shape after massive cuts
The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly have an eye on opening day.Ā
The Maple Leafs made 10 cuts on Saturday, placing Joey Andersson and Mac Hollowell on waivers for the purpose of being assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, and forwards Nick Abruzzese, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Bobby McMann, Alex Steeves, defencemen Mikko Kokkonen and Marshall Rifai, and goaltenders Dylan Ferguson and Erik Kallgren were assigned to the Marlies. Ā
More cuts and waiver moves are coming to put the Maple Leafs in a position to be roster and cap compliant, too.
Rosters, with a maximum of 23 skaters with a collective salary under $82.5 million, must be submitted by 5 pm ET on Monday.
“We’re going to be really tight to the cap as it is and then if any injuries or anything happens tonight it can change things dramatically in terms of the decision-making process, in terms of how many players you can keep on the roster, in terms of who may be on the roster, all those kinds of things,” coach Sheldon Keefe told media Saturday. “That’s just the reality of it. You don’t have all the information to make all the final decisions. But of course there’s a large sample we’ve gone through here over the last number weeks.”
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Toronto, who has one final preseason game to play versus the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, is roughly $2.5 million over the cap with a projected 22-man roster, according to CapFriendly.Ā
Defensemen Timothy Liljegren, with a $1.4 million cap hit, is out with a hernia injury, and Jordie Benn, at $750,000, has a groin injury. Carl Dahlstrom is out six months with a shoulder injury. Each is eligible for the long-term injury reserve.Ā
Other injuries have complicated the roster situation for the Maple Leafs.Ā
Captain John Tavares is questionable to start the season because of an oblique injury sustained in a preseason game against the Ottawa Senators on September 24. Forward Pierre Engvall has a fractured bone in his foot. Defenceman Victor Mete left morning skate Friday after taking a puck to the leg off a shot from teammate Nick Robertson, too.Ā
Tavares and Engvall haven’t been ruled out for the season-opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
The cap isn’t the only battle remaining in camp.
Up front, forwards Nick Robertson, Adam Gaudette, Denis Malgin, Kyle Clifford, Pontus Holmberg, and Wayne Simmonds battling for two roster spots up front. Gaudette, Simmonds, Clifford, and Malgin all require waivers to be assigned to the minors.Ā
Zach Aston-Reese, on a professional try-out, is also among the forward group vying for employment.Ā
The blue line seems slightly more settled by way of injury, and the goaltending tandem of Matt Murray andĀ Ilya Samsonov will work the crease for the upcoming season.
Maple Leafs preseason roster
Forwards
- Zach Aston-Reese*
- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
- Michael Bunting
- Kyle Clifford
- Pierre Engvall
- Adam Gaudette
- Pontus Holmberg
- Calle Jarnkrok
- David Kampf
- Alexander Kerfoot
- Denis Malgin
- Mitchell Marner
- Auston Matthews
- William Nylander
- Nick Robertson
- Wayne Simmonds
- John Tavares**
Defence
- Jordie Benn**
- TJ Brodie
- Carl Dahlstrom**
- Mark Giordano
- Justin Holl
- Filip Kral
- Timothy Liljegren**
- Victor Mete**
- Jake Muzzin
- Morgan Rielly
- Rasmus Sandin
- William Villeneuve
Goaltenders
- Matt Murray
- Ilya Samsonov
- Joseph Woll
*professional try-out
**injured