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The Toronto Maple Leafs were fairly dominant in a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, as once again the second line of William Nylander, Max Pacioretty, and John Tavares led the attack with a pair of second period goals from Nylander. Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews added singles for Toronto and Joseph Woll made 24 saves for his first victory of the season.
The club earned five of a possible six points this week with an overtime loss to Boston, and regulation wins over Winnipeg and Seattle, and moved out defenseman Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, but that move may only be the first of a series over the next few weeks, as Leafs GM Brad Treliving maneuvers to open up roster spots with players returning to health.
The trade with the Sharks cleared $1.75 million in cap space with the Leafs taking back veteran blueliner Matt Benning and his $1.25 million in the exchange. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast indicated that Benning being flipped in another trade is a possibility, since the 30-year-old righty is under contract for another year and could be address another club’s depth needs.
Treliving bought some time on Friday by sending defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar down to the AHL Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint coming off LTIR. Once that stint is complete, the Leafs could place Benning on waivers if they have not moved him already. They could also placed another player, like enforcer Ryan Reaves, on waivers.
This move would clear salary and open up a roster spot, since it is highly unlikely that another team would claim him.
Another possibility is moving out winger Nick Robertson. The 23-year-old stepped back into the Leafs lineup after sitting against Winnipeg on Monday, and had one shot on goal in 11:36 playing on the fourth line. Toronto does not appear to be not willing to give Robertson a lengthy opportunity to play a meaningful scoring role after playing impressively in the preseason. The situation may end similar to Liljegren, where the Leafs move him to another club like Chicago, Columbus, Anaheim, or the NY Islanders who would give him a chance.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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