The Maple Leafs' three reported waiver targets come with one major problem
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Two of the three players linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs cannot be placed on waivers right now, because neither one has an NHL contract.
Ville Koivunen and Scott Morrow are both unsigned restricted free agents. Waivers apply only to players under a valid contract, so Pittsburgh and New York would have to sign them before exposing them.
"Koivunen got into 39 NHL games with the Penguins last season, scoring two goals and seven points in 39 games. He was extremely productive in the AHL, finishing the year with 13 goals and 41 points in 34 games, so there's an argument to be made that he's ready to take the next step.”
- Alex Hobson
- Alex Hobson
That leaves Ivan Miroshnichenko as the only genuinely claimable name of the three. He signed a two-year extension with the Washington Capitals last October carrying a $925,000 cap hit through 2027-28.
What the waiver framing gets wrong
Koivunen's exemption expired on the calendar, not on ice time.
PuckPedia has him at five of five exempt seasons with only 47 of a possible 160 NHL games played.
Two of those seasons were spent in Finland with Kärpät. The Penguins never saw him in an NHL game during the years that quietly burned his eligibility.
Morrow's case runs parallel. His entry-level contract, signed in April 2024, expired this summer, and he has 45 NHL games on his record.
"Morrow would be able to aid in the role, and he's young enough that there could be some more to his game beyond the seventh defenceman he's currently poised to be in Manhattan.”
- Alex Hobson
- Alex Hobson
The bigger obstacle sits in Toronto
PuckPedia currently projects the Maple Leafs roughly $2.75 million over the $104 million upper limit with all 23 roster spots filled. A waiver claim adds a full cap hit and a body.
John Chayka cannot claim anybody in October without subtracting somebody first. The scouting question here is easy; the accounting question is the one nobody is answering.
Miroshnichenko at $925,000 is the least painful version of that problem, which is exactly why he is the only realistic target on the list.
Washington still has to decide whether exposing a former 20th overall pick is worth the risk. With Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner all added up front, general manager Chris Patrick may not have a choice.
Toronto's interest is easy to believe.
Toronto's ability to act on it in October is the part still unsettled.
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