Lou Lamoriello’s out as Leafs GM!

No one asked about it though, probably because we sent out our call for questions before that news broke.

So here’s some rambling on some other stuff that really doesn’t matter too much.

Timothy Liljegren seems as good a bet as any. By all accounts, he’s adapted well to the North American game, and while it would be a year earlier than Travis Dermott’s jump, he comes in as a little bit of a higher-profile prospect. If he’s slated to do big things in the NHL, why not get him as reps as soon as possible. Wouldn’t be too crazy to see him make the roster out of the main training camp.

Grundstrom, who has been an absolute animal in the AHL, is also another outside shot to be on the big roster next year. We jump into a speculative roster down below, but it’s possible in this scenario to expect the Leafs to return to fourth line Connor Brown and push Hyman down into a third line role, alongside whichever free agent they decide to pluck into the lineup.

The thing that sucks for Sparks? Right now, as good as he’s been, he honestly hasn’t been needed. While it’d be nice to give Andersen some extra time off, Curtis McElhinney has been perfectly competent in Toronto. Professional sports always operates in a team over player kind of mindset, and right now, Sparks is just getting the short end of the stick. If McElhinney starts to falter next season, the last year of his contract, maybe we’ll see him on waivers, but I’d expect McElhinney to still be BackupHinney come October.

Without speculating on unrestricted free agent signings, it’ll probably look something like this.

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander

Marleau-Kadri-Marner

Brown-Free agent- Kapanen

Johnsson-Aaltonen-Martin

Rielly-Hainsey

Gardiner-Liljegren

Dermott-Carrick

Or maybe they go wild and trade everyone. We won’t slot potential new signing Par Lindholm into the roster just yet, because we probably all remember (or forget) just how well the Petri Kontiola years worked out.

Because he’s a good boy, Dylan.