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Who To Expect as the First Cut from the Toronto Maple Leafs Camp

By Philip Van Riesen

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - OCTOBER 4: Forwards Auston Matthews #34 and forward Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs congratulate goaltender Frederik Andersen #31 after defeating the Winnipeg Jets during NHL action on October 4, 2017 at the Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Photo by Jason Halstead /Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA - OCTOBER 4: Forwards Auston Matthews #34 and forward Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs congratulate goaltender Frederik Andersen #31 after defeating the Winnipeg Jets during NHL action on October 4, 2017 at the Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Photo by Jason Halstead /Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 28: Jake Muzzin #8 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

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

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