Despite having just traded for Ryan Dzingel, the Leafs are putting him on waivers on Sunday, per David Amber. Sheldon Keefe allegedly confirmed the decision to move Dzingel to the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, providing he clears waivers.
This sheds light on the Leafs' Saturday night trade. One is that Dzingel was never their aim and was likely just a means to compensate the Arizona Coyotes for sending veteran forward Nick Ritchie back their way. Dzingel's cap hit is $1.1 million, while Ilya Lyubushkin's is $1.35 million, bringing the total close to Ritchie's cap hit of $2.5 million.
The argument is that they just traded for Lyubushkin to get rid of Ritchie's $2.5 million cap charge for this season and next. However, they chose not to bury Lyubushkin's cap cost in the minors, indicating that they intend to use him in the lineup for now.
