NOTE: updated as of January 18.

With the NHL training camp coming to a close tomorrow, cap-compliant 23-man rosters are due by 5 p.m. New York time. We know the Maple Leafs won’t have 23 men on theirs, but we don’t absolutely know who will be on the list of 21 they can fit under the salary cap.

The Taxi Squad is also set on Tuesday, and it must contain four players and can’t have more than six. Players who aren’t waivers exempt must be waived and clear to join the squad or to be sent to the Marlies.

The Maple Leafs currently have a roster of 36 NHL-contracted players plus some AHLers on PTOs who can just be released back to the Marlies. Several NHL-contracted Maple Leafs have been loaned to European teams, and they have all either cleared waivers or were exempt. Of the remaining 36 on the training camp roster, only a few have waivers exemption. They are:

  • Nic Petan: still on the roster and in the scrimmage game Saturday night, Petan cleared waivers on January 9, so he is exempt until he plays 10 NHL games or is on the NHL roster (in the regular season) for 30 days.
  • Michael Hutchinson: did not play in the scrimmage, and cleared on January 10, so has the same exemption as Petan.
  • Update: players cleared to date are: Kenny Agostino, Travis Boyd, Adam Brooks, Martin Marincin, Calle Rosen.
  • Teemu Kivihalme: Exempt for 50 more NHL games or 1 season.
  • Pierre Engvall: Exempt for 7 more NHL games or 1 season. $175,000 of his cap hit counts no matter where he is.
  • Rasmus Sandin: 117 NHL games or 2 seasons.
  • Timothy Liljegren: 139 NHL games or 2 seasons.
  • Joe Duszak: 63 NHL games or 2 seasons.
  • Mac Hollowell: 72 NHL games or 2 seasons.
  • Mikko Lehtonen: 1 season (no games played limitation).
  • Nick Robertson: 160 NHL games or 4 seasons.
  • Joey Anderson: 89 NHL games or 1 season.
  • Alex Barabanov: 1 season (no games played limitation)./

All numbers are from CapFriendly, and include the calculations for proration of NHL games played requirements for this season. For an explanation of how these numbers are calculated, including with this season’s anomalies, go to this page: Waivers FAQ.

Once players have cleared waivers to be placed on the Taxi Squad, the rules are exactly like for the AHL in terms of being called up and losing the waiver exemption. Players can play nine games in the NHL or be on the NHL roster for 29 days. One more day/game and they lose their exemption.

There is no clarity yet on the COVID-19 rules for calling players up directly from the AHL. This is expected soon, but for now, we should consider the Taxi Squad the first source of players to be called up when necessary.