Maple Leafs lose exclusive NHL rights to former draft pick despite keeping him in their system

Toronto lost the draft rights to Joe Miller though have kept him in their system via the ECHL but that doesn't mean an NHL team can't come along and sign him away.

As of Saturday, Aug. 15, there were several players who remained unsigned and had lost their draft rights who had the ability to sign an NHL contract. Though there has been no word of any deal as of yet, there are a few names available who could find new homes.

Joe Miller was one of those players, as the former Maple Leafs draft pick became eligible to be signed by any other NHL team given his expired rights, however he's currently still part of the Maple Leafs system.

Joe Miller can stay in Toronto's system despite the team relinquishing his draft rights

Miller signed directly with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Toronto's ECHL affiliate, which keeps him inside the Maple Leafs' system but it doesn't bring back Toronto's exclusive NHL rights or count as an NHL contract.

Not only because player growth isn't a finite and defined timeframe, but because Miller has the ability to be signed by other NHL teams in the process. Despite being in the ECHL, Miller can agree to an NHL deal if he plays well enough to earn an offer, at which point he would be free to accept.

Miller, 24, has spent the last four seasons at Harvard where he registered 37 goals and 90 points in 127 games. If he can continue his solid offensive production in the ECHL, then it could lead to an AHL or potentially a two-way NHL deal.

Toronto's August 15 decision turns Miller from protected prospect into an open-market asset

Toronto never signed Miller to an entry-level contract after his four years at Harvard, where his production fell from 23 points in 28 games in 2024-25 to 12 points in 34 games last season.

The issue here is that if Miller explodes offensively for the Cyclones and manages to impress teams enough to earn a deal, then Toronto loses a prospect for nothing. It's the nature of the business though and they already had too many bodies fighting for minutes so Miller gets pushed down to the third-tier of the organization.

That could lead to him leaving the team at some point if offered an NHL contract, and by leaving Miller unsigned, Toronto kept open an NHL contract slot while still retaining him through Cincinnati but the trade-off is that the Maple Leafs no longer control where his next NHL opportunity comes from

Miller now sits in an unusual middle ground for Toronto. The Maple Leafs can still watch him develop with the Cyclones, but they no longer have exclusive access to his NHL future. If he breaks out in Cincinnati and another club offers him an NHL contract, Toronto would have no right to stop him from leaving.

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