Bo Groulx cleared waivers this afternoon, and the Toronto Maple Leafs immediately sent the forward down to the Marlies, according to Elliotte Friedman.
Nobody else in the NHL wanted him. All 31 other clubs had the chance to claim Groulx and passed, so he stays in the Leafs organization.
Friedman posted the news at 2:04 PM Eastern, and the move drops Toronto's roster to 21 players out of a maximum of 23, according to The Hockey News.
Groulx won a job out of training camp and played seven games without a point, averaging 8:03 of ice time. He came out of the lineup when Dakota Joshua was activated from long-term injured reserve and made his season debut in Saturday's 4-2 win in Vancouver.
The Leafs had room to keep him. They chose not to, and that tells you where the bottom of the forward group stands right now.
The timing is the interesting part, because Jim Hiller's uncertainty over John Tavares' return hangs over the whole roster picture. The Hockey News reports Tavares has been upgraded to day-to-day with a lower-body injury and could be activated later this week, which would bring the Leafs to 22 players.
Why the Maple Leafs want an open roster spot this weekend
Toronto plays back-to-back games this weekend, Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens and Sunday against the New Jersey Devils. The Hockey News suggests the Leafs could use the extra space to carry Artur Akhtyamov as a third goalie.
That would give Sergei Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz a night off each. It is a sensible plan, and it is also a sign of how much the Leafs are leaning on both goalies. Bobrovsky has played 10 games, Stolarz six.
Don't write Groulx off. He had three goals and five points in 13 games late last season, and he was sent down so he could stay eligible for the Marlies' playoff run. That call paid off, with eight goals and six assists in 23 playoff games and a 2026 Calder Cup.
Still, a Calder Cup run does not buy ice time on a Leafs team that is 8-6-2 and sits 13th in the NHL. Kirill Marchenko is on injured reserve and listed as expected to be out until at least Nov 17, so the forward group is thin. If Groulx was the odd man out in that situation, his path back up is narrow.
The Leafs host the Utah Mammoth tonight, and the next roster decision will come when Tavares is activated later this week.
Should the Maple Leafs have kept Bo Groulx instead of dropping to 21 players?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Pierre LeBrun reveals just how far Tampa Bay went to keep Nikita Kucherov
