With Jake Muzzin now in the fold and Ron Hainsey presumably pushed to the third pairing, the Leafs’ logjam of fringe defencemen finally shook loose a little today, as the team decided to place Martin Marincin on waivers.

Marincin only suited up for ten games with the big club this season, but there was plenty of reason to believe Justin Holl, who has seen even less action, might be the odd one out when Toronto began carrying nine backs after the trade with Los Angeles. But with Holl being a righty and carrying a low cap number of $675k through next season, asset-wise it does seem smart to move on from Marincin, who will be a free agent this summer. Babcock didn’t seem keen on ever using either of them, but obviously Dubas felt risking Marincin being claimed was worthwhile.

There’s probably a coin-flip chance Marincin is claimed by another club, and if he clears he’ll give the Marlies a nice boost in their stretch run. Okay, I’ve definitely written more than enough words about potentially losing Martin Marincin now. We’ll know tomorrow at noon if he cleared or was claimed.

The news about Ennis is encouraging, since he was a solid contributor playing deep in the lineup early in the season. Given his injury history, I think a lot of people probably assumed his season was over when he broke his ankle in December. It isn’t clear what his timeline for return will be, but if he’s skating already, it seems likely he gets some games in before the playoffs.