Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs Will Need to Cut Two Players in the Near Future

The Toronto Maple Leafs roster is slowly starting to finally take shape. With their first two lines locked down, it leaves the bottom half of the lineup with some movable pieces where Craig Berube sees fit. The team will have even more reinforcements soon when Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa return to the ice after their AHL conditioning stint.

So with their return looming, GM Brad Treliving needs to make a few roster moves in order to fit them not only on the roster but in their cap situation as well.

Two names that are mentioned are the recently acquired Matt Benning, who came over in the Timothy Liljegren trade, and Philippe Myers, a towering defenseman who signed with the Maple Leafs this summer. Benning is an easy casualty given his appeal as a cheap third-pairing option for a team seeking defensive help, and Myers has only played in one game this season and hasn't found a spot amongst the bevy of Maple Leafs defensemen.

Benning comes at a cap cost of $1.25M for the next two seasons, so Toronto would more than likely want to get rid of that ASAP as they prepare for either a trade to bring in a 3C or to save money in the offseason if they plan to go after a big name free agent. He's still fairly young at 30, and would provide a solid option as a 6th or 7th defenseman for a team, and can also help an AHL affiliate immensely.

Myers, who signed with Toronto after stints in Philadelphia, Nashville, and Tampa Bay has bounced around between the NHL and AHL throughout his 7-year NHL career. His best season came in 2019-2020 as a member of the Flyers, where he had 4 goals and 12 assists and was a +17; he also contributed 4 points in 16 playoff games that season. A solid offensive defenseman for his size, Myers would be a good candidate as a waiver claim for a team wanting a very cheap NHL-ready defenseman.

The Maple Leafs have work to do when it comes to their roster construction after people return from injury. It's the unfortunate part of the business where you are often just a placeholder until the real pieces are back, and that's the reality for Benning and Myers. They had their place on paper, but on the ice, it's a completely different story.