The Toronto Maple Leafs have their roster down to 25 players as 2014 first round pick William Nylander is being returned to play for MODO of the SHL and Frazer McLaren, Colton Orr and Korbinian Holzer have been placed on waivers.
The Leafs eighth overall pick last June showed an abundance of offensive skill during training camp, but did not appear to be up to the physical challenges of the NHL at 18 years old. Nylander will not be sent to the AHL Toronto Marlies, but instead will play for MODO and will likely be a part of Sweden's 2015 World Junior squad that will play games in Toronto in December.
Orr($925,000), McLaren($700,000) and Holzer($787,500) are all on one-way contracts, which increases the likelihood of them clearing waivers and being assigned to the AHL Toronto Marlies. The demotion of both Orr and McLaren is surprising, as head coach Randy Carlyle still believes in the value of the enforcer, but it is very possible that we have not seen the last of Orr in a Leafs uniform.
Once the three players clear waivers on Tuesday, any can be recalled and demoted between the AHL and NHL for the span of 10 games or 30 days without having to clearing waivers again.
Forwards(15)
CARTER ASHTON
DAVID BOOTH(INJ-likely LTIR)
TYLER BOZAK
DAVID CLARKSON
MATT FRATTIN
PETER HOLLAND
NAZEM KADRI
PHIL KESSEL
LEO KOMAROV
BRANDON KOZUN
JOSH LEIVO
JOFFREY LUPUL
MIKE SANTORELLI
JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK
DANIEL WINNIK
Defense(8)
CODY FRANSON
JAKE GARDINER
VIKTOR LOOV(possibly heading to Sweden)
STUART PERCY
DION PHANEUF
ROMAN POLAK
MORGAN RIELLY
STEPHANE ROBIDAS
Goaltenders(2)
JONATHAN BERNIER
JAMES REIMER
Toronto still has to make two more moves to get down to the 23 player limit.
Loov will be subtracted and sent to the Marlies, but his contractual situation in Sweden must be clarified before that can happen. Booth will find his way to LTIR with his broken foot keeping him out till the end of October. Carter Ashton still remains up(in spite of having a forgettable training camp) because of the uncertain status of injured forwards Josh Leivo, Tyler Bozak, David Clarkson and Phil Kessel, but also because he may be picked off of waivers by another NHL team.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported last week that the Leafs had been asking around about interest in Ashton, trying to recoup a draft pick like they did with Joe Colborne late in training camp last season.
Ashton accepted a one-year qualifying offer for $850,500 in July and saw only sparse playing time during the exhibition schedule. The 23-year-old is on a two-way deal, making $850,500 and had 20 goals in 32 games AHL regular season and playoffs games last season.
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