Maple Leafs' opening-night roster almost set after cuts

The Maple Leafs signed Zach Aston Reese to a one-year deal, placed Wayne Simmonds, Kyle Clifford, and Adam Gaudette on waivers, while Denis Malgin and Nick Robertson both made the roster cut as Toronto prepares for NHL opening night in Montreal.

Video Transcript

- Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of In the Mentions. I'm TicTacTOmar. And it looks like for the most part, our 2022-2023 Toronto Maple Leafs roster is set for now. There have been some changes and some movements and transactions that have taken place, but for the most part we have some information, starting with the fact that Zach Aston-Reese has upgraded his PTO to an actual deal, a one-year deal with the Leafs, which I think for the most part we all kind of saw coming. I mean, even William Nylander kind of spilled the beans a little bit after a preseason game a game the other day, right? We also have on the downside some players on waivers. Wayne Simmonds, which for me personally, it has an extra sting because Wayne Simmonds being on the Leafs has been something I've wanted for a long time and having him part of the organization was wicked. Adam Gaudette, who kind of had an interesting start to the camp with an injury but then had some signs of positivity but wasn't able to make the cut. Kyle Clifford, as well, has been with the organization for a while.

But as far as the positives go, it looks like Roberson and Dennis Mulligan have done enough to make the final squad again. Things aren't still confirmed yet. But both have had extremely amazing camps. And particular, Nick Robertson, who heading into training camp was the main focal point of the roster. What can Robertson do to make the team? And we listed things like compete level, skill, show that he can play against stronger, more physical players. And I think he's done that. And then some, right? It's one thing to play the role. But it's another thing to have the production in. He's been putting up points since he started the pre-season. And now it looks like he's going to get an opportunity. And then the Mulligan thing is great as well because there are a lot of people who were not too big or not too high on the Mason Marchment trade, who are finding every opportunity to dump on Dennis Mulligan. Well, you can't see that anymore, because he had a great camp as well, and he's definitely earned his spot on the team. Now where his spot is, as well as Robertson, where that goes is still a little up in the air. There's still a lot of movement that has to take place. But as we're winding down, it seems like we're finally starting to get an idea of what this Leafs team is going to look like this year. And hopefully, at least to a lot more positivity than we got last year.