The Leafs are four games into the preseason; including two games against the Flyers and a split-squad pairing against the Sens. Players were fighting to show their skills... some of them quite literally. This morning, Thursday, the Leafs announced that they have cut back their roster by 13 players. No need to worry, the pint-sized Nylander is still there. A notable cut is Greg McKegg, who had two assists in his 12 minutes on the ice against Philly.
David Broll, Jamie Devane, Connor Brown, Brad Ross, Carson McMillan, Brady Vail, Andrew MacWilliam, Brendan Mikkelson, Eric Knodel and Tom Nilsson have all been sent down to the Marlies.
As for goalies, there's no real surprise there - Bernier and Reimer are still standing strong as one and two, while Antoine Bibeau and Garret Sparks battle it out for the number three spot behind the injury-prone Bernier and shaky Reimer. The Flyer gear wearing Heeter, along with Chris Gibson have also been assigned to the Marlies.
The four pre-season games saw their fair share of fights as players hope to show the coaching staff their physical presence. McLaren, Holzer, Broll and Troy Bodie have all dropped the gloves in the first 4 games. McLaren and Bodie will have more chances to show their skills, while Broll and Holzer have been cut.
As for the players still there - everyone is waiting with great anticipation to see what happens to Nylander who has one goal and one assist in his first 30 minutes of playing time. Skeptics everywhere are questioning his size and his experience. Experience, will come, whether it is with the Leafs or the Marlies, but as for size, he is the same size that Doug Gilmour was when he played with the Leafs. Only time will tell.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Maple Leafs forward David Booth was cut from Toronto's roster.