Door left open for Amadio to make team
Sunday’s NHL waiver wire shed some light on the outlook for the Maple Leafs’ season-opening roster, and the news appears to be good for forward Michael Amadio.
With the Leafs placing centre Adam Brooks on waivers — a bit of a surprise — the door was left open for Amadio to make the roster that must be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday.
The six-foot-one, 204-pound Amadio did not figure to be in the mix despite a hand injury to forward Ilya Mikheyev in Saturday night’s pre-season game against Ottawa, and lingering uncertainty about centre Auston Matthews’s availability for opening night after off-season wrist surgery.
Amadio, who signed a twoway contract as a free agent in July, spent four years with the Los Angeles Kings before a trade to the Senators at last season’s deadline. The 25-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie comes with a $750,000 (U.S.) salarycap hit in the NHL, which suggested he was more likely to start with the AHL’s Marlies.
But the Leafs elected to waive Brooks, a versatile centre who had four goals and four assists in 18 NHL games over the past two seasons.
If Brooks is claimed — the Senators and Canadiens were believed to have interest — Amadio and Pierre Engvall would seem poised to round out a forward corps featuring Matthews, Mitch Marner, Nick Ritchie, John Tavares, William Nylander, Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, David Kämpf, Ondrej Kaše, Wayne Simmonds and Jason Spezza.
The timing of the waiver move could work in the Leafs’ favour, though, with 43 players waived leaguewide including several experienced forwards.
Matthews’s availability for Wednesday night’s opener against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena remained uncertain Sunday, an off day for the Leafs, who return to practice Monday. With three games in four nights to open the season, they might choose to let Matthews heal a bit longer.
“By Monday, we’ll have a better sense of where he’s at,” coach Sheldon Keefe said.
While Brooks and Amadio would need to clear waivers to join the Marlies, forward Kirill Semyonov and defenceman Timothy Liljegren, who don’t, remained with the Leafs but are also on the bubble. While NHL teams can carry up to 23 players, the cap-restricted Leafs are expected to start with 21.
If Mikheyev’s hand injury leads to a stint on long-term injured reserve as expected — missing at least 10 games or 24 days — it would mean a savings on his $1.645-million cap hit, and open the door further for Amadio. The Leafs have other options, though, such as bringing back rookie Nick Robertson, who was sent to the Marlies just last week.