TORONTO -- Kyle Dubas brought the first professional hockey championship to the city of Toronto in over a half century as general manager of the AHL Toronto Marlies. In his first training camp as boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the young GM chose to stay loyal to the players that helped earn the 2018 Calder Cup Championship.
On Monday, the Leafs placed veteran goaltenders Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers and dealt defenseman Connor Carrick to the Dallas Stars for a conditional draft pick to get down to the 23-man NHL roster limit.
Six players integral to the Marlies title made it past the final cut; forwards Andreas Johnsson and Frederik Gauthier, defensemen Martin Marincin, Justin Holl and Travis Dermott, and goaltender Garret Sparks.
Gauthier, the Leafs 2013 first-round pick, was injured for most of training camp and lost the fourth line center battle to SHL import Par Lindholm. Marincin and Holl were the Marlies shutdown pairing in the Calder Cup Playoffs and are making less than $1 Million on new contracts, while Carrick was deemed expendable after being in and out of the NHL lineup last season.
“Part of (the decision) was the GM that was with them every day is the GM here.” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “There’s no question that Marincin can play in the National Hockey League, (but) you’ve got to do it. Holl is a big guy who can skate, but now he’s got to get himself from being on the roster to being in the lineup.”
The Toronto lineup is still not settled, with the expectation that a spot will have to be opened when restricted free agent William Nylander signs, but choices made by Dubas and Babcock were heavily weighted in favor of players developed by the club who were not waiver exempt and potentially vulnerable to being claimed by other NHL clubs.
The choice of Sparks over McElhinney is mildly surprising based on the 25-year-old’s subpar performance in the preseason and Babcock’s trust in the veteran netminder, but it was unlikely that Sparks would go unclaimed if placed on waivers after winning the Baz Bastien Award for AHL Goaltender of the Year last season. There's a better chance that the 35-year-old veteran could slip through.
“All decisions are very hard. They’re all good people. In (McElhinney’s) case, he’s been unbelievable for us. He’s a great veteran.” Babcock said at the club’s practice facility on Monday. “Sparks has been in the organization for a long time and built himself a history. This camp isn’t what got it done, it was the history and knowing the guy and understanding that you’ve got a long way to go, but a 25-year-old going in the right direction has a chance to get there.”
Goaltender Frederik Andersen is expected to see the lion’s share of the starts in goal for Toronto this season. There are thoughts that Babcock will decrease his starter’s workload slightly after he showed signs of fatigue at the end of last season.
Sparks is in his eighth season with the Toronto organization after being selected in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft and had an understandable sense of accomplishment with the news that he cracked the Leafs roster.
MORE: Could Maple Leafs' power play be even more lethal this season than last?
“There were a couple times that I thought it wouldn’t happen and that’s what makes this even sweeter.” Sparks said. “The last couple weeks were a huge learning experience; and going through the competition, it was fierce the entire way without being destructive in any way.”
Both McElhinney and Pickard could be claimed on Tuesday by teams looking to upgrade their goaltending depth, but if not, they will be reassigned to the American Hockey League awaiting an opportunity to get back to the NHL.
Sparks (a native of suburban Chicago) will likely get his first start on Sunday, when the Leafs play the second of back-to-back games against the Hawks at the United Center.