TORONTO — It appears to be out with the old and in with the new on the Toronto Maple Leafs blue-line.
The team placed veteran John-Michael Liles on waivers Sunday and looked ready to start the regular season with 19-year-old Morgan Rielly in his place.
That was part of a series of moves from the Leafs ahead of Monday’s roster deadline, where it must get below the $64.3-million salary cap.
Liles was in and out of Randy Carlyle’s lineup last season and got knocked down the depth chart with Rielly’s emergence, the late summer signing of Paul Ranger and the end of Cody Franson’s contract standoff last week.
Even with the writing on the wall, the 32-year-old tried to remain positive. He had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s final pre-season game against Detroit and felt like he had done the best he could with the limited opportunity he was given in camp.
“It’s management,” said Liles. “It’s not something that you control as a player, whether it’s me, whether it’s one of the young guys. It’s the nature of the game we’re in and the business that we’re in.”
Liles will likely be sent to the American Hockey League if another team doesn’t claim him by noon ET on Monday.
The other Leafs placed on waivers Sunday were goalie Drew MacIntyre, defencemen Korbinian Holzer and T.J. Brennan, and forwards Trevor Smith and Troy Bodie.
It seemed to suggest that winger Carter Ashton and Rielly would be part of the group heading to Montreal for Tuesday’s season opener, although there was no confirmation from the Leafs. As of early Sunday afternoon, Rielly hadn’t received word on the team’s plans for him, according to a source.
With the suspension to David Clarkson and the injury to Frazer McLaren, Toronto was likely to take just 11 available forwards and seven defencemen into the start of the season.
Rielly, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft, had a strong camp and would have to be sent back to the Western Hockey League if the Leafs didn’t keep him. After playing six pre-season games, the teenager thought he belonged in the NHL.
“I feel like I am there, but that’s up to the coaches if they want me to play this year or not,” said Rielly. “They have a goal to reach, which is to play in the playoffs again. That’s what they ultimately want.
“If they choose to keep me or to put me back to junior obviously I’ll understand.”
Liles has three years remaining on a contract that carries a cap hit of $3.875-million annually. However, under new collective bargaining rules, the team will only receive $925,000 of cap relief if he is sent to the minors.
Toronto found itself in a cap crunch with Monday’s roster deadline looming. Late Saturday night, the team traded centre Joe Colborne to Calgary for a conditional fourth-round pick rather than risk losing him for nothing on waivers. That, and the expected demotion of Liles, helped clear the necessary room.
Liles is a veteran of more than 600 career NHL games. His only AHL experience came during a short stint with the Hershey Bears after graduating from college in 2003.
Despite the mounting speculation about his future in recent days, he remained classy until the end.
“There hasn’t been a camp in my NHL career where it’s your position set in stone,” said Liles. “It just makes it even tougher when you’ve got kids pushing you. You’ve got some great, young blue-liners in this organization, and they should be proud of the camp they had.”
Congrats to both morgan rielly and carter ashton in making the opening night roster. #TMLtalk
— Paul Hendrick (@HennyTweets) September 29, 2013