Dzingel expected to be placed on waivers before he even plays a game in Toronto
The Leafs had a practice on Sunday, ahead of Monday's game in Montreal, but because last night's trade did not happen until late, newcomers Ilya Lyubushkin and Ryan Dzingel were not in attendance.
There has been a lot of speculation over how the Leafs would become cap compliant today, with many wondering if Timothy Liljegren would be sent down to the Marlies, as he would not have to clear waivers. With Sandin absent from practice, a few eyebrows were raised.
After practice, Keefe clarified that Sandin's absence was due to a paper transaction, but that he was expected to be back with the team on Monday against the Habs. The Leafs bench boss also revealed that Dzingel would be placed on waivers at 2pm this afternoon.
The Leafs are hoping that Dzingel clears and can be assigned to the Toronto Marlies, but whether he ends up being claimed or clears waivers, that will free up almost $1M in additional cap space, which the Leafs can use to accrue more cap space to use at the trade deadline.
Dzingel is a former two-time 20-goal scorer, both occurring with the Ottawa Senators in 2017-18 and 2018-19, when he scored 23 and 22 goals, respectively. I don't want to assume anything here, but I think there's a pretty good chance that he's claimed. If he does happen to clear, he's a serviceable depth player for the Leafs that may be able to help them in the playoffs or as a call-up in the event of an injury in the second half of the season.
