The next domino has fallen for the Toronto Maple Leafs in light of this week’s Jake Muzzin trade.
At noon today, the Maple Leafs officially placed defenceman Martin Marincin on waivers, effectively ending his stint with the team this season.
It’s not a necessarily unexpected move, either. Acquiring Jake Muzzin on Monday gave the Leafs a total of nine defencemen to fit within a roster that truly only needs seven, essentially meaning that someone had to go. The consensus choice, however, was Justin Holl, who has been a healthy scratch for all but two games thus far this season and is seemingly out of favour with Mike Babcock.
Alas, it was Marincin who ended up being the odd man out.
What Marincin’s waiving signifies more than anything else is how management views Holl.
It’s easy to forget, given that they reside in the same office, but the decisions pertaining to both the roster and the lineup are made by two different people. Mike Babcock and Kyle Dubas are both masters of their own domains, and it’s become abundantly clear, even before today’s news, that Dubas holds Holl in much higher regard than Babcock does.
Choosing to expose Marincin to waivers and effectively risk losing him for free should serve as a staunch vote of confidence for the 27-year-old Holl, and may very well reveal that the right-shot will have a role on the Leafs moving forward.
Whether his role is that of a trade chip or an actual on-ice contributor still remains to be seen.
When it comes to Marincin, though, his future is a lot less clear.
It would seem unlikely that GMs are lining up in droves to secure the services of a 28-year-old left-shot defender who has been unable to secure a defined NHL roster spot since 2015-16. Marincin has always held the moniker of being an analytics darling, primarily spurred by his uncanny knack for denying opposing zone entries, but even that glimmer may have faded in recent years.
Marincin only drew into 10 games for the Leafs this season. He played sparingly, averaging only a touch above 15 minutes per game, and was used in a primarily sheltered role.
If Marincin indeed clears waiver as most expect him to, his next stop would be to join the Toronto Marlies, where he served as an integral cog on their Calder Cup-winning team a year prior. Adding Marincin to the current Marlies’ D corps would undoubtedly serve as a significant addition. With Rasmus Sandin out nursing a sprained elbow, the team’s left side has largely struggled to bridge the gap in his absence.
That only seems to apply in the immediate sense, however.
According to Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe, Sandin’s status has now been upgraded from that of week-to-week to now day-to-day, as the 18-year-old slowly nears a return. This complicates things. For one, it’s unlikely that Marincin, whose future in the Leafs’ organization is likely done after this season, would withhold a top prospect from sorely needed playing time. Not to mention, Marincin’s trade value isn’t exactly at its peak right now, which could make moving him decidedly difficult.
Wherever it is that Marincin eventually ends up, it won’t be the Leafs.
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