17 placed on waivers including a current Toronto Maple Leaf

With the NHL regular season looming, several teams across the league were active on Thursday, making key roster decisions in their final lineup tune-ups ahead of the season-opening roster deadline. Seven teams from around the league placed 17 players on waivers Thursday, and each can be claimed by any other franchise over the next 24 hours.

On Wednesday, indeed, all 12 players that were placed on waivers did clear and weren't claimed. In this group of unclaimed players, there were a couple of veteran goaltenders: the Philadelphia Flyers' Cal Petersen and the Carolina Hurricanes' Spencer Martin. With their waivers cleared, these players will now be ready to take off on their course in the minors or as depth options.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, in particular, have started to cut down their roster in preparation of the team's upcoming pre-season match against the Detroit Red Wings. Of course, leading the waiver wire news is placing forward Nick Abruzzese on it in hopes of sending him down to the AHL's Toronto Marlies. Joining Abruzzese up front as the other cuts are Matthew Barbolini, Jacob Frasca, Ty Voit, and more. Meanwhile, on the back end, the likes of William Villeneuve and Vyacheslav Peksa have been added to the Marlies roster.

Goaltender Jon Gillies had signed a professional tryout contract with the Leafs in advance of the start of camp and is another of the notables who will head to the Marlies. Most of the people heading to the AHL were on AHL-specific contracts, but a few, including Kressler, Voit, Villeneuve, Hildeby, and Peksa, have NHL contracts with the Maple Leafs, showing their future potential within the team.

For this final pre-season game, the Maple Leafs have a whole lot of players from their AHL affiliate, including prospects like Roni Hirvonen and Alex Nylander in the lineup. With just over a week left before the start of the regular season, Toronto and others across the NHL are solidifying their rosters, positioning themselves well for the opening, while trying their best to avoid any unnecessary injuries.