Who To Expect as the First Cut from the Toronto Maple Leafs Camp
There were 34 players included on the Toronto Maple Leafs summer training camp roster.
The maximum the Toronto Maple Leafs can bring is 31, but they plan to save a spot for the eventual return of Andreas Johnsson.
This news brings us to the question, which players should be cut from camp going moving forward?
Kyle Dubas had mentioned that the Leafs plan to bring 15-16 forwards, 9-10 defensemen, and 3-4 goalies into the bubble, and the organization doesn’t plan on bringing any players who don’t have a clear role.
Toronto Maple Leafs Roster
The first step is to assess who is guaranteed to be among these 28-29 players.
Beginning with the goaltending position, Frederik Andersen and Jack Campbell are without a doubt going to be the 1-2 goaltender duo.
With the 9-10 defensemen, you can expect Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, Travis Dermott, Tyson Barrie, Justin Holl, Rasmus Sandin, Martin Marincin, and Cody Ceci to be in the bubble.
With the organization’s praise for these players, it would be an absolute shock if any of them didn’t make it, taking a look at the games played for each player this season should be enough to display this.
For forwards, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, Kasperi Kapanen, Alexander Kerfoot, Ilya Mikheyev, Zach Hyman, Kyle Clifford, Jason Spezza, Pierre Engvall, and Frederik Gauthier are for sure making it. All of these players are either touted by the organization very highly (Ilya Mikheyev) or have played enough NHL games to be a no brainer depth piece.
Totaling up the guaranteed players, we have a total of 22 players who are fully expected to make it into the bubble, with 2 goalies, 8 defensemen and 12 forwards.
To make it clearer, let’s break it down into 3 categories, goalies, forwards, and defensemen.
Goaltending
Both Joseph Woll and Kasmir Kaskisuo have a shot at making the bubble, we know for sure one of them will make it and possibly both of them as Dubas stated the Toronto Maple Leafs will bring 3 or 4 goalies.
Kaskisuo is basically an AHL goaltender at best, at 26 years old it’s hard to believe he will ever be of NHL caliber.
Kaskisuo is a fine AHL starter and even played a game for the Leafs this season which did not go too well, but it wasn’t his fault at all. I don’t expect much out of Kaskisuo, however as the third-string goalie you have to just hope you won’t have to use him.
Joseph Woll is the Leafs hope in net for the future.
Woll didn’t have the greatest first pro season in the AHL for the Marlies posting a meager .880 save percentage.
He is 22 years old, and the organization has a lot of hope for him. He is known for being calm in his net, positionally sound, and can move well for his large frame.
He has the potential to be an NHLer and maybe the Leafs use this extra training time as a learning experience for him.
If Woll somehow suddenly looks better than Kaskisuo in training camp I am sure the Leafs will bring him on and he can be like a black ace for the team as Kyle Dubas had pointed out during the press conference.
Defensemen
With eight defensemen already settled, this leaves one, possibly two openings left. The two defensemen that immediately stick out are Calle Rosen, and Timothy Liljegren, but he has since been deemed unfit to play and replaced on the roster with Mac Hollowell.
Teemu Kivihalme is also present in camp.
Teemu Kivihalme would be the last option for this. Kivihalme was brought in last summer as a free agent from Europe and had a decent season with the Marlies, I suspect he may get a shot in the NHL next season, but at this point, I don’t see how he rises above Rosen and Liljegren on the depth chart.
Liljegren who was not present for training camp on day one this Monday had a great season with the Marlies but his games at the NHL level were quite disappointing, he was not a positive contributor in the 11 games he played.
It would have been very interesting to see if he made it to the bubble or not. I am sure he has the capability of succeeding, and hopefully, he has improved since we last saw him play in the NHL. It would be really nice to see Liljegren with more confidence and poise at the NHL level.
Rosen, who the Toronto Maple Leafs traded in the Tyson Barrie trade, and then traded back for at the trade deadline, is likely the choice here over the inexperienced Hollowell and Kivihalme.
The best bet here is to expect both Rosen to make it, and possibly Kivihalme if the Toronto Maple Leafs will be going with 10 defensemen total. This will allow for there to be 5 total defensive pairings
Forwards
With most of the foward core in place, this leaves likely three, possibly four of, Nic Petan, Kenny Agostino, Adam Brooks, Nick Robertson, Denis Malgin, Tyler Gaudet, and Egor Korshkov to be added to the bubble.
To begin with, one of the more interesting cases, Denis Malgin who by now you probably forgot was even a Leaf seems like he has no guaranteed to make it despite his 192 games of NHL experience.
In his short stint with the Leafs, I don’t remember a positive thing he did on the ice, he only registered for 3 shots in the 8 games he played with the Leafs. Sheldon Keefe had him bouncing from line to line because he never seemed to find a fit with any line, it seemed as if Keefe didn’t know what to do with him.
I think Malgin has shown that he is of quality to be a fringe NHLer who can play all three forward positions, but he has never shown to be more than that. At 23 years old it is possible he has some untapped potential to be more than a 4th line/healthy scratch level player, but the chances are quite slim. Still, having a player of his quality that is almost not certain to be in the top 15/16 forwards is a luxury.
On the first day of training camp this past Monday, it also seemed as if his line with Petan and Agostino were almost a step behind the other lines. With this all being said, there is no guarantee for Malgin to be on the roster but with his positional versatility and experience, there is a good chance he will make it to the bubble.
Nic Petan, a player who seems like he has been on this team for a decade and is way too good for the AHL but no other team seems to be interested in his talent is always fun to discuss. I am quite confident Petan is an NHL level player, but the problem with him on the Leafs is he doesn’t seem like the kind of player you want playing in the bottom-6 and he hasn’t found a solid footing with any of the players to this day much like Malgin.
I think Petan’s chances are quite slim and I really feel for the guy, it does seem like he works hard and he has talent but he may not be a fit on this roster. He is definitely a good enough player to be in the NHL, I just find his chances aren’t too high with his playstyle on this team.
Kenny Agostino is a very interesting situation.
Last summer the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to a bargain 2-year deal after Agostino had a decent year in Colorado playing primarily on the third line.
Agostino’s transition and defensive game seem to be quite strong and when I’ve watched him play on the Marlies it is easy to tell he is a step ahead of the other players. He is not a guy that will move the needle but he seems like he would be a solid complementary player.
However, the organization didn’t even have him play one NHL game this season. I think that goes to show there are clearly other guys who the organization favors more. I wrote a more in-depth piece on Agostino and why the Leafs should have tried him out when Mikheyev was out with an injury here.
Adam Brooks is a hard-working two-way player that to me seems perfect for a fourth-line center role. Brooks has been in the organization forever and finally, he got called up this season and had a very impressive few games. Brooks is known for his high IQ play in all 3 zones, his impact both offensively and defensively seems to be strong enough to be in the NHL.
With Keefe’s pre-existing close relationship with Brooks, and Brooks’ success in the NHL this season, I would expect him to make it to the next phase, and I hope he does.
I personally would rather he be played over Gauthier as the fourth-line center. It really seems as if he will be able to create more opportunities offensively while being just as capable defensively. Another bonus for Brooks is his penalty killing has come a long way, and I am hopeful he is capable of being a solid penalty killer at the NHL level because he was excellent with the Marlies this past season.
Tyler Gaudet was another cheap deal the Toronto Maple Leafs signed last offseason, Gaudet doesn’t have the NHL resume that some other players have with only 20 NHL games to his name.
During the scrimmage on Monday, the Leafs didn’t even have him on a proper forward line, so I think that goes to show he is not really in contention for a spot. I assume he was only there to replace a player if one was absent.
Igor Korshkov is a player that many Leaf fans are very fond of, I don’t know if its because his 82 game NHL scoring pace is 82 goals or he plays a big power forward style, I will assume its both.
Korshkov has the ability to bring an extra gritty dynamic to the Leafs. Although Korshkov is no goon, he is an above-average skater and uses his body only when it is called upon.
He seems like a good net-front guy and is good on the forecheck and is excellent at annoying the hell out of the other team. I think the Leafs like the style Korshkov plays and he may fair well against a heavy style Columbus team which could give him an extra advantage over one of the smaller players he is competing with.
Last but most certainly not least is Nick Robertson, the 18-year-old steal of the 2019 NHL draft is easily the most exciting player on the list. Robertson absolutely tore up the OHL and he is one of the most committed players you will ever whiteness. Kyle Dubas pointed out that the Leafs will give Robertson every opportunity to succeed and he has been practicing with a couple of Leafs players already for a few weeks now.
Every single trusted scout I have talked with seems to think Robertson is worthy and ready to take on the challenge of the NHL. With my viewings of him, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to, however, I keep questioning myself because a player’s ranking rarely moves up this quickly but Robertson sure seems like a good bet to become a success.
Robertsons shot is already one of the best in the world, and him playing with a pass-first player such as Kerfoot has me thrilled to see what he can do.
One major advantage for Robertson is the fact that the Left-Wing on the Leafs is weaker than other positions and Andreas Johnsson is still out with an injury that leaves an extra spot.
With the organization and the fans behind Robertson’s back, there is a lot of potential for him here to be a true wild card for the Leafs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the cut with the drive he is said to have, anything is possible for Robertson.
With all of these players, I am going to say that Brooks is the most likely on this list to make it, with a three-way tie between Malgin, Korshkov, and Robertson, meaning that all of these players can make it but there is a chance one might be cut. For now, I will assume that all of them make it, but it will be interesting to see if any of them fail to.
Leafs Must Not Play Ceci. dark. Next
So who do we have cut?
The most likely to be cut is Gaudet, along with Kivihalme, Woll, Petan, and Agostino. This leaves us with likely one of Malgin, Korshkov, Robertson, or Liljegren to be added to the 5 cuts.
There are plenty of exciting times ahead and there is more content planed in relation to the roster.