Toronto Maple Leafs: Who They Should Protect and Expose in the Expansion Draft
By James Reeve
POTENTIAL LOSSES
For the Leafs, their potential losses in the upcoming expansion draft are not great.
They will either lose an ageing, experienced player in the mould of Laich, Michalek, Polak or Hunwick, or they will lose a young prospect with unproven potential – such as Griffith, Rychel, Leipsic or Marchenko.
More from Toronto Maple Leafs
- Maple Leafs Rumours: Half of NHL teams interested in Ilya Mikheyev
- Toronto Maple Leafs: How to address the goaltender position
- Leafs reward Timothy Liljegren with extension after breakout season
- Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell situation becoming increasingly uncertain
- Jason Spezza retires, joins Toronto Maple Leafs front office
The Leafs will be able to hold on to their biggest assets and as they will only lose one player from the expansion, they will be glad they do not need to protect more players.
Vegas’ management will have a clear plan of what they’ll be looking for in terms of players and the kind of team they want to build.
The Leafs offer them both experience and potential, and Vegas will have a tough decision to make.
A number of players the Leafs have to offer are free agents in the summer, so the loss of a younger prospect will likely hurt more than if, say, they saw Laich or Michalek selected.
No matter who the Leafs lose in this draft, they are still set up to be strong over the coming seasons.
FORWARDS
- Brooks Laich
- Milan Michalek
- Seth Griffith
- Kerby Rychel
- Brendan Leipsic
DEFENCEMEN
- Roman Polak
- Matt Hunwick
- Martin Marincin
- Andrey Marchenko
GOALIES
- Curtis McElhinney
- Garret Sparks
Next: Leafs Survive Late Red Wings Push
Who do you think the Leafs are likely to lose in this upcoming expansion draft? Who would you be happy to see walk? Who do you hope the team keep? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!