Three former Maple Leafs hit the waiver wire on Saturday as Pierre Engvall, Justin Holl, and Alex Steeves were all cut from their respective teams.
As the NHL season creeps closer, we are getting to the finalisation of rosters and that means any last-minute moves are going to be fast and furious. We've seen a flurry of waiver movement and on Saturday that kept up.
Four former Maple Leafs are part of the waiver wire
A total of 10 players were placed on waivers though several of them share a connection as former members of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pierre Engvall, Justin Holl and Alex Steeves were waived by the Islanders, Capitals, and Bruins respectively and all three come with a bit of history with Toronto.
Engvall was a player who ended up having a decent start with the Maple Leafs, but after leaving for New York and signing a mega-deal, he fell off. Bouncing around waivers multiple times, Engvall never was able to reach the level he once hit in Toronto.
Holl is a notorious player who was a stay-at-home defender who often got a lot of criticism for his defensive work, especially during the playoffs. Steeves was an AHL mainstay for years but never received a real shot in Toronto, leading to him signing with the Bruins last summer.
The Calgary Flames also placed Alex Nylander on waivers, making that the fourth former Maple Leafs player who ended up being cut on Saturday.
Should the Maple Leafs make a claim for any of these old faces?
Unless John Chayka wants to go back on his word, he should probably stray far away. Holl is way too slow and immobile for the Maple Leafs' new defensive structure, and they already have a logjam at the back.
Steeves would be mainly depth and likely sent back to the Marlies where he stayed for years before putting in a decent season with the Bruins. Engvall is the one who fell off the most, and it would be hard to justify paying him his contract given his lack of production.
There's a good reason why the team moved on from these players and if the team truly wants to usher in a new era, then they need to forgo anyone from the past and let their new group lead the charge.
More details to come.
Do you think any of these former Leafs are going to be claimed off waivers?
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