The Maple Leafs released their training camp roster today with the expected list of PTO players.
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- Steven Lorentz - 28, LW
- Max Pacioretty - 36 (in November), LW
- Jon Gillies - 30, G
Sometimes the point of a player on a PTO is to just have a guy who can play in preseason games which require eight "veterans" per the current CBA.
A player is considered to be a “veteran” if they meet any one of the following criteria:
- Skaters who played 30 NHL games the previous season
- Goalies who dressed in 50 NHL games, or played in 30 NHL games the previous year
- Any player who has played 100 or more NHL games
- A current year first round pick
Lorentz and Pacioretty count for this purpose, Gillies doesn't seem to. However, Pacioretty's agent has said outright he's signing a contract, and Lorentz seems like more of a serious look at a depth player than just a guy who can play in one of the six preseason games.
There are also quite a few players on AHL contracts on the roster like Kyle Clifford, Joe Blandisi and Robert Mastrosimone to name just a few of the big group. There are also invites like the infamous Marshall Finnie who hit Ben Danford at rookie camp. All of these players will be on PTOs or ATOs for the duration of camp, but some might get converted to AHL PTOs or ATOs when the groups split up which is likely to be very soon.
There are only the six games this year, with the first starting on Sunday against the Senators.
Some other things you should know:
- Once training camp starts all players signed to NHL contracts are on the Leafs roster. There is no AHL roster, and the salary cap does not come into effect until the regular season roster has to be submitted on Monday, October 7, which is not Thanksgiving for a change.
- Players can be loaned to their junior teams or to European teams (and those seasons have started, so the loan has already happened).
- There are no waivers until 12 days before the end of training camp. At that time, formal cuts to the AHL can begin and players who are not exempt will go on waivers.
- Players on PTOs cannot play in regular season NHL games, but the PTO can last into the season, and can be a device to keep an AHL-level player around until they can be signed to an NHL contract and immediately go on waivers when teams are less likely to be making claims.
- Eventually, the roster will be split off and the Marlies will begin practicing, and they will add players on PTOs from the ECHL to make up the numbers as they await cuts from the NHL roster. AHL preseason games are often not broadcast.
