The Toronto Maple Leafs have 49 players left in training camp.
That means that they have about 26 players to cut still. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a pretty good idea of who is making the team (there are maybe five or so bubble players) and so they have split their remaining players into two groups.
According to the Toronto Star, the Leafs had one group with mostly NHL players, and they were:: Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Patrick Marleau, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Mitch Marner, Matt Martin, Miro Aaltonen ,Connor Brown, Dominic Moore , Eric Fehr, Josh Leivo, Ron Hainsey, Morgan Rielly ,Nikita Zaitsev , Jake Gardiner, Martin Marincin , Connor Carrick , Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman. Plus both goalies.
There are really no surprises here. Kasperi Kapanen doesn’t have to clear waivers to go down, and Timothy Liljegren didn’t even really get any consideration. Some people will be surprised about Martin Marincin, but they shouldn’t be. Fans typically don’t appreciate low-impact defenseman, and Marincin is no different. The group-think hate for the guy is pathetic and ill-deserved, but what can you do?
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The Leafs will have to cut two of these players, as the NHL Roster is 23 players, and the likely candidates are Calle Rosen and Eric Fehr, though who knows? It could very well be Marincin and Leivo. You don’t really know what Babcock will do because he doesn’t really care what anyone else thinks and he’d cut the most expensive, best liked player if he thought that was the right thing to do.
Bubblers
Since no one has been cut, it’s important to recognize that these aren’t set in stone. Someone from the B team could easily make it. Members of this team include Kapanen, Soshnikov and Dermott.
To me, Dermott is the most surprising B team member. I knew Kapanen was a long shot due to the numbers, but it really looked like Dermott was going to make the team. Obviously, he still can, but this is at least somewhat of an indication that Borgman and Rosen are ahead of him.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have two games remaining in the preseason. Both games are against Detroit. The Leafs begin the season on Wednesday October 4th, and final cuts are due the day before. Though of course cuts could come at any time, the Leafs previously announced they wouldn’t be cutting anyone until the conclusion of the preseason.
I for one really hope that Dermott makes the team.