Veteran Maple Leafs players at risk of losing spot to top prospects

Recent draft picks Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan will be hard at work trying to crack a spot in the Leafs lineup when training camps begin in September. Cowan played more preseason games than expected last season before being sent back to the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) London Knights where he had a fantastic season. Minten played four games with the Maple Leafs before also being sent back to the juniors.

David Kampf is one player that comes to mind who could be in danger of losing his roster spot. Kampf doesn't score enough goals to justify a top-nine role and his salary is simply too high for only being on the 4th line. Kampf has only surpassed double-digit goals once in his entire career. He has scored over twenty-five points just twice in his seven NHL seasons. GM Brad Treliving will likely be working the phones trying to trade him.

Ryan Reaves is another player that comes to mind as to who could be on their way out. Players like Reaves and their influence on a game's outcome are minimal in today's NHL. Reaves does not contribute to special teams, nor does he score goals. Reaves barely gets into half of the team's games and spends most of his time as a healthy scratch or sent to the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) if the team is in need of salary cap space. Reaves was signed to a horrible contract and it made no sense at the time. It seems to make even less sense now.

Another player whose job could be in jeopardy is Calle Jarnkrok. Like Reaves and Kampf, he makes too much money for what he does, and his age and history of injuries make him a likely player to trade, as the Leafs already have too many wingers and a bunch of young players looking to take his spot.

Liljegren has also been mentioned as a player that could be moved, however a player who is more likely to lose his job to a top prospect is Simon Benoit, who seems to be the Leafs #6 for now, and who was almost replaced earlier in the summer by Jani Hakanpaa, however those contract talks have stalled for now. Benoit could easily lose a lot of his minutes to a young, faster puck-mover.

Source: Editor in Leaf
Veteran Toronto Maple Leafs Players in Danger of Losing Their Roster Spots

Source: HockeyDB
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