Tuesday Provides Two Waiver Surprises Involving Past and Present Maple Leafs
Tuesday brought about more waiver wire news as a Toronto Maple Leaf cleared while a former Maple Leaf was placed on the waivers in a surprise move.
Shortly after having acquired Matt Benning and draft picks from the San Jose Sharks for Timothy Liljegren, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed the defensemen on waivers with the purpose of reassignment to the American Hockey League.
With the Leafs having a full compliment of defensemen at their disposal, there was no room for Benning to crack the lineup.
Alongside Andreas Anthanasiou, Benning cleared waivers and was reassigned to the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.
The 30-year-old veteran had suited up in just 7 games for the Sharks this season, with 0 points, a minus-5 rating, and 13:02 ATOI after an injury-riddled 2023-24 relegated him to just 14 contests. Look or him to get more playing time with the Marlies and perhaps a call-up should injuries arise at the NHL-level.
In other news, former Maple Leafs' netminder James Reimer found himself on the waiver wire on Tuesday with the return of John Gibson. The Anaheim Ducks were without their number one goaltender after he underwent emergency appendectomy surgery at the end of September.
Lukas Dostal appeared in 11 games this season while Reimer only saw 2 games with Gibson on the mend. Now that he has returned to the lineup, the Pittsburgh-native is expected to share the crease with Dostal and already looks to be in mid-season form with a 38-save performance in his first game back.
Reimer has bounced between San Jose, Florida, Carolina, Detroit, and Anaheim since 2015-16, when the Maple Leafs shipped him out to the Sharks ahead of the trade deadline. He's found it almost impossible to stick around for a team longer than one season but has nevertheless found a job every year.
Since his departure from Toronto, Reimer has appeared in 288 games, has started in 264 of them and holds a 124-101-40 record, to go along with a .907 SV% and a 2.96 GAA. Not the greatest numbers but respectable figures considering some of the teams he's played for.
If he clears waivers, expect him to be reassigned to to their AHL affiliate in the San Diego Gulls.
