The Toronto Maple Leafs put Steven Lorentz on waivers, and with Tuesday's opener against Montreal looming, the roster picture just sharpened.
Zack MacEwen is the other half of that story. He's arguably been the biggest surprise of camp, and he's walking into Opening Night with a spot.
Waiving Lorentz was the right call. Depth jobs get won in September, and MacEwen went out and won one.
Training camp works like packing a moving truck. You only find out what doesn't fit when the back door won't close, and Toronto just found out.
Then there's Nick Paul. Jim Hiller wasn't sure whether Paul will be ready for puck drop Tuesday night.
That question carries weight. If Paul can't go, Bo Groulx could find himself on the Opening Night roster.
Nick Blankenburg also looks set to land a contract soon after coming into camp on a PTO. So how many bodies can Toronto keep before somebody else gets squeezed?
Auston Matthews' camp has Mark Masters buzzing about new Leafs
TSN Leafs reporter Mark Masters says things feel noticeably different around this team. He singled out Auston Matthews' impressive camp.
That's the development that actually matters. Matthews carries a $13,250,000 cap hit, and Toronto goes exactly as far as he takes it.
Not everybody is rolling. Matthew Knies has struggled through camp, and that becomes a real problem fast once the games start counting.
The results have followed the mood. Toronto closed out a 4-2 win in Ottawa on Wednesday for a second straight preseason victory.
The group also spent time together on an Arizona retreat. Hiller, hired in June, has had a full summer and camp to put his stamp on this room.
The money side sharpens everything. The cap is projected to climb from $104 million to $113 million, then to $127 million.
That final jump could land in a year when the free-agent class is headlined by Matthews, Connor McDavid and Zach Werenski. Convenient timing, if you're Toronto.
Montreal visits first. It's the opening meeting of the season between the two rivals, with nothing on the ledger yet.
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Now the rest of the league gets its look at Lorentz. And if Paul isn't ready Tuesday, Hiller's first real lineup call lands before his first regular-season puck drop behind Toronto's bench.
Did the Maple Leafs make the right call keeping Zack MacEwen over Steven Lorentz?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
61 players hit NHL waivers today, and a few of the names are hard to believe
