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Leafs clearing and managing their roster early in Dubas tenure |
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The decisions made by the Toronto Maple Leafs organization since Kyle Dubas took over have been of the non-impactful variety, but they do offer a window into how the Leafs new general manager wants to proceed.
Toronto chose not to sign defensive prospects Keaton Middleton and Nicolas Mattinen (both selected in the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo) prior to June 1 and both will re-enter the Draft later this week in Dallas.
The club swapped the rights to 23-year-old winger Nolan Vesey to Edmonton Oilers for a 2020 seventh round pick. Vesey was a 2014 draft pick who finished his senior season at the University of Maine and would become an unrestricted free agent in August if not signed to a contract with the Leafs.
It is likely that all these players were offered the option of signing an AHL contract and chose not to. The Leafs have been using that tactic to stockpile prospects throughout various levels of the organization as developmental players. They signed Justin Holl to an AHL deal after playing one season in the Hawks organization, with Mason Marchment after playing for three OHL teams in two seasons and with mid-round draft picks JJ Piccinich and Martins Dzierkals coming out of the CHL.
Toronto has also managed some of their other prospects, using the European leagues to have them gain experience and buy the organization time to monitor their development. 2017 second round pick Eemeli Rasanen sign a two-year deal with Jokerit in the KHL rather than signing an entry-level deal and return to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs.
That decision allows the Leafs prospect to develop in a professional league close to home, while retaining the 19-year-old defenseman’s right for another three seasons.
The club also is doing the same with 2016 second rounder Yegor Korshkov. The 6’4”, 180 lb winger played his fourth season with Lokomotiv last season and was expected to come to North America this fall before resigning for one year in the KHL.
With the Marlies forward depth not allowing youngsters like Jeremy Bracco and Adam Brooks to play up in the lineup until late in the season, Korshkov may have seen his development stunted by intermittent playing time, rather than getting regular ice time in the KHL for another season.
On Monday, the Marlies announced the re-signing of veteran forward Colin Greening to a one-year AHL contract.
The 32-year-old was acquired as part of the Dion Phaneuf deal in 2016 and after finishing off the season with the Leafs, has played 142 games over the last two seasons for the Marlies, helping provide leadership and experience for the young club on their way to the Calder Cup title.
Greening was acquired from the Sens with one year left on a three-year, $7.95 Million contract and re-signed with Toronto before last season on a one-way deal for $750,000. The details have not been disclosed on the new contract, but as an AHL deal, it does not count against the NHL 50-pro contract limit.
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