The cuts are in.
The Leafs have waived Colton Orr, Frazer McLaren and Korbinian Holzer, while William Nylander is headed back to MoDo for the upcoming season.
That means, if you lost track, the guys who made the team include: Stuart Percy, Carter Ashton, Matt Frattin, Josh Leivo and Brandon Kozun, on top of the obvious.
We should also note that Leivo isn’t practicing today because he is hurt with a bruised foot. Not to mention Bozak and Franson are banged up. That means more demotions will eventually happen.
For now, these appear to be the lines:
Toronto Maple Leafs Opening Night Roster
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| JVR | Bozak | Kessel |
| Kozun | Kadri | Lupul |
| Komarov | Santorelli | Clarkson |
| Winnik | Holland | Frattin |
| *Ashton | ||
Left Defence | Right Defence | |
| Phaneuf | Robidas | |
| Gardiner | Rielly | |
| Percy | Polak | |
| Bernier | ||
| Reimer |
So, it looks like the top line from last season will in fact start the season together again despite talk of otherwise. It’s unclear if Kozun will actually start on the second line, but he has some skill and is an excellent forechecker, and those are the type of tools in a player that will help Kadri-Lupul out. The third line looks like a checking line, but they can play hockey and contribute some offense; it is the line I am most curious about. The Leafs also appear to be sticking with Frattin for now and giving him a chance to produce. The fourth line can play some minutes but isn’t particularly offensive, defensive or physical, so it should be interesting to see how they contribute playing limited minutes.
Percy looks like a future top 4 D-man and it will be exciting to see him get an opportunity to play in the NHL to see how he does. I am curious to see how often he gets into games once Franson is healthy, and for that matter, if they keep him up in the NHL when he does in fact get healthy.
Also of note: the six D-men currently listed are all under contract next season, so this could be some foreshadowing. The guy missing (because of injury), Cody Franson, is a UFA at the end of the season.
With David Booth on the IR, the Maple Leafs are down to a 23-man roster consisting of the following:
Toronto Maple Leafs 23 Man Roster
| Forwards | |
|---|---|
| # | NAME |
| 37 | CARTER ASHTON |
| 42 | TYLER BOZAK |
| 71 | DAVID CLARKSON |
| 39 | MATT FRATTIN |
| 24 | PETER HOLLAND |
| 43 | NAZEM KADRI |
| 81 | PHIL KESSEL |
| 47 | LEO KOMAROV |
| 67 | BRANDON KOZUN |
| 32 | JOSH LEIVO |
| 19 | JOFFREY LUPUL |
| 25 | MIKE SANTORELLI |
| 26 | DANIEL WINNIK |
| 21 | JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK |
| DEFENCEMEN | |
| # | NAME |
| 4 | CODY FRANSON |
| 51 | JAKE GARDINER |
| 50 | STUART PERCY |
| 3 | DION PHANEUF |
| 46 | ROMAN POLAK |
| 44 | MORGAN RIELLY |
| 12 | STEPHANE ROBIDAS |
| GOALIES | |
| # | NAME |
| 45 | JONATHAN BERNIER |
| 34 | JAMES REIMER |
Four lines of players who belong in the NHL is a good place to start the season off.
Note: The players who clear waivers are free to go up and down for the subsequent 30-day period.
