Toronto Marlies Notebook: It’s Baun to the Next One

Departures

We all know Nikita Soshnikov, he of 17 points in 19 games, was shipped to St. Louis for a 2019 fourth round pick. It was inevitable. And, in the grand scheme of things, his departure was a muted blow.

Losing mainstays like Kerby Rychel and Rinat Valiev, however, is unchartered territory.

An AHL roster is constantly in a state of evolution. The reality is, the NHL team holds all the cards, enacting complete authority over their affiliate.

As players are frequently recalled, demoted and even traded at a moments notice, roster makeup changes drastically on nearly a weekly basis. So, two mid-20’s big league longshots getting dealt shouldn’t really come as a shock. Especially at the trade deadline.

With that said, the Marlies are a unique case study. Their roster is a finely-tuned machine.

Each player is given a defined role, one he’s expected to perform without question. The departures of Rychel and Valiev, two players who had assumed crucial roles for their team, necessitates some changes.

Namely, rookies like Timothy Liljegren and Jeremy Bracco will be in for an increased workload, far earlier than previously imagined. And, with depth no longer an applicable excuse, each lineup scratch becomes that much more telling.

(insert closing line)