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Toronto clearing space for influx of youth; Leafs vs. Stars

March 14, 2018, 1:18 PM ET [716 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The Toronto Maple Leafs will be undergoing a bit of a roster transition during the off-season, but it will be more than just the expected exodus of veterans such as James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak via free agency.

The Leafs have been precariously close to the 50 professional contract limit and have played a shell game with the 23-man roster most of this season. Those facts made it necessary to deal Nikita Soshnikov and Eric Fehr for roster flexibility prior to the deadline.

This summer Toronto has 19 restricted and unrestricted free agents (including the expiring contract of Joffrey Lupul), lowering the number of pro contracts to 29, but Leafs management has to make decisions on which players to re-sign and which to let go to make room for unsigned prospects.

2015 draft picks Martins Dzierkals, Jesper Lindgren and 2014 draft pick Pierre Engvall and Dakota Joshua are examples of those who will require decisions.

Dzierkals is a victim of the Leafs roster crunch and their significant organizational depth on the wing. The 20-year-old signed an AHL contract and has 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 42 ECHL games with Orlando and will likely be looking for an entry-level contract.

Lindgren played three years with MODO in the SHL and this season with HRK in the Finnish league (and signed an amateur tryout with the Marlies on Wednesday) and Engvall has 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) in 31 games in his first full SHL season with HV71. Toronto has exclusive rights on both Swedes until the end of June, when they become unrestricted free agents.

The 6’3” 200 lb. Joshua is in his junior season at Ohio State and has a career-high 14 goals in 30 games for the Buckeyes. If the 21-year-old forward chooses to leave school and turn pro, the Leafs would have until August 15th to get him under contract.

Big winger Mason Marchment is another player on an AHL deal who has made an impression with 19 points for the Marlies this season and a report this weekend indicates that the Leafs will sign the 22-year-old to an entry-level deal.

Most of the 10 UFA’s will not be back, but it is always possible that Babcock favorites such as Leo Komarov or Roman Polak could be re-signed. Most of the RFA’s (including William Nylander, Andreas Johnsson, Connor Carrick and Calvin Pickard) will be re-signed or receive qualifying offers to retain their rights, but others such as Martin Marincin and Kasimir Kaskisuo could be non-tendered and allowed to test free agency.

The unforeseen factor will be the potential of players being moved in trades during the offseason, if prospects playing in Europe (Carl Grundstrom, Yegor Korshkov) come to North America or if the Leafs continue to sign free agents from the KHL or SHL.

The deadline deal with Montreal for Tomas Plekanec included forward Kerby Rychel and defenseman Rinat Valiev, who were both RFA’s and had fallen victim to the numbers game in Toronto.

When the Leafs report to training camp next September, the number of new faces could be significantly more than you would expect.

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The Leafs held an optional morning skate on Wednesday morning in preparation for the first of three games in four nights against the Dallas Stars at Air Canada Centre.

Defenseman Travis Dermott was on the ice after missing practice on Tuesday and indicated that he was feeling better after a bout with the 24-hour flu. The rookie blueliner’s return to health means he will be in the Toronto lineup and allowed the return Calle Rosen to the AHL Marlies.

Leafs head coach Mike Babcock indicated he will start Frederik Andersen, which means that backup Curtis McElhinney will get the start in Buffalo on Thursday.

The Stars are in a tight race involving seven teams for a Western Conference playoff spot and are playing the second of back-to-back games after a 4-2 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal on Tuesday.

Goalie Ben Bishop is still on the mend with a knee injury and backup Kari Lehtonen allowed four goals on 26 shots in the loss to the Habs, so it is a question whether third stringer Mike McKenna will get the start or Lehtonen goes on back-to-back nights.

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