The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially finalized their roster ahead of Opening Night. The club submitted its complete 23-man lineup ahead of Monday’s 5 pm deadline. Amid the last-minute moves, two stunning waiver claims occurred.
First, the Maple Leafs claimed forward Sammy Blais from the rival Montreal Canadiens. Blais, a former sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2014, was on the bubble for Montreal. He was among the final cuts, with the club hoping to sneak him through waivers.
That didn’t happen, and so the Leafs plucked him at the last minute. Blais made it on the final roster. He’ll occupy the 13th forward spot. He’ll likely sit in the press box for quite some time unless injuries become an issue. The 29-year-old did not play in the NHL last season.
The other surprising waiver claim was goaltender Cayden Primeau, another former Montreal Canadien. Primeau had signed on with the Carolina Hurricanes, but hit the waiver wire on Monday. The Maple Leafs, looking for goaltending depth, picked up the 26-year-old.
The move is somewhat surprising as the thought was that either veteran James Reimer or Dennis Hildeby would back up Anthony Stolarz while Joseph Woll is away from the club.
However, Reimer had a bad outing during the Leafs’ final preseason outing against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. Reimer, who was on a PTO, hasn’t been officially released from his PTO yet.
Meanwhile, Hildeby has been reassigned to the Marlies. Hildeby will be the starter there until further notice.
Maple Leafs Loan Easton Cowan to Marlies
One of the most talked-about players this training camp season was prospect Easton Cowan. There was all sorts of speculation regarding the 20-year-old. He was on the bubble to make the team, potentially pushing veterans like Calle Jarnkrok out of a job.
However, the Maple Leafs chose to send him down to the Marlies as he is waiver-exempt. The club kept Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson, as other clubs would have certainly picked them up off waivers.
Robertson projects on the third line with Max Domi and Dakota Joshua. As for Jarnkrok, he’ll be on the fourth line with Nic Roy and Steven Lorentz. Scott Laughton will start the season on IR, with blueliner Marshall Rifai in LTIR.
Kampf’s Cap Hit Buried in AHL
David Kampf did not make the final roster despite the injury to Laughton. Instead of placing Kampf on the fourth line, the Maple Leafs apparently decided to bump Nic Roy down to the fourth line, Matias Maccelli to the top line, and Max Domi on the third line.
That situation pushed Kampf out of the lineup entirely. After clearing waivers, his cap hit is officially buried in the AHL. $1.25 million of his $2.4 million cap hit will count toward the cap this season.
Unless there’s a taker at some point, the Maple Leafs don’t seem keen on bringing Kampf back up. He’s likely the sixth or seventh center on the team’s depth chart. So, there’s little chance fans will get to see the 30-year-old in the lineup this season.
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