When it comes to not qualifying RFAs, no one was bolder than the Maple Leafs. Matias Maccelli is now the 11th highest scoring forward in free agency on July 1st, and it is possible that someone will pay him well over his $4.1M qualifying price.

That said, moving on from Maccelli couldn’t have been an easy decision. The price for qualifying Maccelli seems high, but free agency could make him seem like a bargain. He is the best player available of the RFAs who didn’t receive qualifying offers. At 25, a market will be there for him. Qualifying him and even having him sign his qualifying offer could have left the Leafs with a modest asset and some interest after free agency opens. Still, $4.1M is a financial gamble for a team that wants to spend, and the Maple Leafs still have the luxury of attempting to trade Nick Robertson for assets.

Moving on from Peksa, Thrun, Prokop, or Kressler were less heavily debated decisions. A fresh start at all levels of the organization isn’t a bad thing, even if the Marlies are coming off a Calder Cup win. There always needs to be room for new prospects. A few reclamation projects wouldn’t hurt either.

Reclamation projects are the best of what is available when it comes to the new unrestricted free agents who didn’t get qualified. Not surprisingly, most have barely tasted the NHL, and of those who have, none match the output of Matias Maccelli. The Leafs were the only team being generous to the league.

Instead, it’s a matter of looking at who might be worth another shot with the right player development department. Who are the AAAA players that can serve the Leafs when the injury bug sets in during the December/January stretch and you are still too far away from the trade deadline to load up your roster again?

I’m not sure how much the Maple Leafs are in the market for undersized depth scoring with Nick Robertson now qualified and potentially returning, but if the plan is to add more of the same, Bobby Brink is certainly an option the Leafs could explore. If Toronto wants to start Gavin McKenna further down the lineup card than the top six, Bobby Brink could be a finisher the Leafs look at. The key difference between Brink and Robertson is that Brink shoots right.

Tomasino has had a career that seemed to run parallel with Nick Robertson’s. Last season was the first break in the parallel as Robertson continued on as an adequate depth scorer while Tomasino fell flat and out of favour with Kyle Dubas.

Still young enough for a last look and a bit of development, Tomasino might be worth trying to sneak onto the Marlies in the early days of the season if he can’t make his case in training camp to stick with the Leafs.

Kaliyev is another similar talent to Brink, Tomasino, and Robertson. He looked like he was panning out, then he didn’t. His season with the Belleville Senators shows he has a lot to offer at the AHL level, and that might be where the Leafs organization needs him the most anyway. Like Tomasino, Kaliyev might be looking for the best team to compete for an NHL spot. The better play might be to find a multi-year deal to find a place in a competitive organization.

At 22, Kyrou is also one of the youngest right-side defensemen available in free agency. He was drafted by the Stars during Mark Leach’s time there, and if Leach is still a believer in Kyrou, he might be worth a look.

The lack of talent available in free agency, first from the original free agent crop, and then the lack of top-up from buyouts and RFAs without qualifying offers, is going to force the NHL back into being a trading league, which is entertaining and good. It is also going to force the NHL back into being a development league. All of the players listed above at one point were considered high-potential talents. The Leafs would be wise to consider taking a couple of flyers on discarded talent.