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The Toronto Maple Leafs will finish out their eight-game exhibition schedule with a home-and-home series against the Detroit Red Wings before making their final cuts to get to or under the 23-man NHL roster limit.
As was the case against the Canadiens in Montreal earlier this week, the Leafs will be featuring a lineup that will make up the majority of the Toronto Marlies roster, but will give players their last opportunity to make an impression before GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Mike Babcock make their final decisions.
The @MapleLeafs have announced the expected roster for Friday night’s preseason game in Detroit. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/1XyaEkDZUX
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) September 26, 2019
Toronto made three changes to the group that will play at Little Caesar’s Arena on Friday, inserting winger Dmytro Timashov and defensemen Rasmus Sandin and Martin Marincin in place of Egor Korshkov, Kevin Gravel and Justin Holl.
"(Marincin and Sandin) are looking to try to be our third pair. We put them in this game here tonight so they would play big, big minutes and so we could watch them together and see where it’s at." Babcock said at the Ford Performance Centre in Etobicoke before departing for Detroit. “We have four (defensemen), we are trying to get a feel for the rest.…
Korshkov scored two goals in a 3-0 win at the Bell Centre on Monday and will flip to his off wing and take the place of Timashov on the fourth line unit with Jason Spezza and Frederik Gauthier after playing less than eight minutes in the win over the Habs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.
Waiver exemption and salary may be a big consideration when it comes to the Leafs final choices leading up to the season opener against Ottawa next Wednesday.
Gravel, Holl, Marincin, Jordan Schmaltz and Ben Harpur all make $725,000 or less and have to clear waivers to be sent down to the AHL, while Sandin makes $925,000 on his entry-level contract, is waiver exempt and would burn the first year of his rookie deal if he plays 10 games in the NHL.
It has been pretty clear that the 19-year-old Swede has been the best of the group and should get an opportunity, but early in the season it is possible that the Leafs will keep those they are fearful of being claimed by another club to play a bottom-pairing role for limited minutes.
Korshkov, along with Jeremy Bracco and Pierre Engvall have had some good moments at camp, but the Leafs have the luxury of being able to get them up and down with no issues. Timashov is no longer waiver exempt after three full seasons with the Marlies and may be concerned that a 22-year-old who had 35 assists in the AHL last season and making less than $700,000 will get snagged.
Michael Hutchinson is expected to get the start on Friday, with Frederik Andersen going in the preseason finale on Saturday.
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