What NHL Waivers Mean for Toronto Maple Leafs Roster Cuts
Toronto’s final training-camp cuts put two defensemen on NHL waivers. This article explains what that process means, why teams use it, and how the Maple Leafs’ recent moves fit the pattern.
A 27-Player Cutdown
The Maple Leafs reduced their training camp roster by 27 players ahead of their final preseason games against the Ottawa Senators. The wave of moves included two defensemen placed on waivers, a stack of assignments to minor-league camps, and three junior players returned to their Ontario Hockey League clubs.
Two Names on the Wire
Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis went on waivers with the purpose of reassignment to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, according to PuckPedia. The Hockey News examined the reasoning behind the pair of moves. TSN’s Ice Chips also listed Mermis among a long list of players placed on waivers that day.
For both players, the next 24 hours mattered. Any NHL club could put in a claim.
How Waivers Work
A player placed on waivers is not immediately free to go to the minors. Every other NHL team gets a chance to claim him first. The waiver order is based on the standings, so teams lower in the standings get priority.
If a team claims the player, that team must keep him on its NHL roster and take over his contract. If no one claims him, he clears waivers and the original team can assign him to the minor leagues.
That is why a waiver placement is a calculated risk. The team wants to keep its depth, but it knows another club might step in and take the player away.
Why Teams Do This
Rosters are capped at 23 active players during the regular season. Training camp rosters are much larger. Teams need a formal way to get down to that number without releasing players who are still under contract.
Waivers give other clubs the first refusal. For the Maple Leafs, keeping Mermis and McWard in the organization depended on no one else wanting them on an NHL roster. Mermis, a veteran defenseman, was the type of player a team with an injury or a thin blue line might claim. McWard, a younger defender, could appeal to a club looking for a low-cost depth addition.
The Rest of the Cuts
The Maple Leafs sent 14 players to Marlies training camp, including Marc Johnstone, Logan Shaw, and goaltender Timofei Obvintsev. Four players went to the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, with Joe Miller among them. Alexander Bilecki, Tyler Hopkins, and Harry Nansi were returned to their OHL clubs in Kitchener, Guelph, and Owen Sound.
The Leafs Nation noted the team had a condensed camp and needed to finalize its opening-night roster before the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens. The waiver moves were less about removing unwanted players and more about trimming the roster to comply with league rules while hoping no rival club grabbed the exposed defensemen.
A player who clears waivers and reports to the Marlies can be called up later. A player claimed by another team is simply gone. That is the trade-off built into every roster cut of this kind.