Former Leaf fails to earn contract in camp; released from PTO

After originally signing a PTO with the Leafs last year, Zach Aston-Reese turned his tryout into a 1-year deal at the end of training camp last season and was hoping to do the same this year when he attended Carolina Hurricanes camp on a PTO. Unfortunately for Aston-Reese, he was unable to impress Carolina's staff enough to earn a new deal and it led to him being released from his PTO on Friday.

Aston-Reese skated in 77 games for the Leafs last season where he scored a career-high 10 goals, but just 14 total points. Aston-Reese is not known for his offensive skills, but rather his defensive abilities and his physical nature, two things the Leafs were looking to improve upon last season.

While he was unable to secure a new contract with Carolina, the 29-year-old could still very well land somewhere else as teams begin to make their final cuts ahead of Monday's deadline. A veteran of 307 career games, Aston-Reese has registered just 80 career points but has 818 hits over that time, splitting time with the Leafs, Ducks and Penguins.

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