The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost another depth forward on the waiver wire.
The Vancouver Canucks claimed Travis Boyd on Friday. It was the second time this week that the Western Canadian club claimed a Toronto forward off the waiver wire.
The Canucks claimed Jimmy Vesey on Mar. 17.
The 27-year-old Boyd has three goals and five assists in 20 games this season. He became a staple on the fourth line as the team dealt with injuries this season. Boyd was a healthy scratch for Toronto’s last two games as the team iced a fully healthy lineup.
Toronto had preferred to keep their forwards, but they had to clear waivers before they could add the flexibility of moving both players up and down from the team’s taxi squad
Toronto was right up against the NHL’s $81.5 million salary cap with Boyd on the roster. On Saturday, the team used an emergency loan exception to temporarily exceed the limit in order to have goaltender Michael Hutchinson dress as a backup in place of injured netminder Frederik Andersen.
The Leafs assigned goaltender Ian Scott as both Andersen and Jack Campbell had the day off of the team’s skills session on Monday.
Signed by Toronto to a one-year deal at the league-minimum $700,000, Boyd was ripe for the picking by another club looking for depth and the Canucks added some depth to their bottom-six forwards at little cost
Boyd and Vesey aren’t the only players Toronto lost to waivers this season
The New Jersey Devils claimed goaltender Aaron Dell to waivers on Jan. 18. He signed a one-year $800,000 with the Leafs in October. Dell never played a game for Toronto but did dress as a backup for one game.
Toronto is in the market to add a forward before the NHL trade deadline on Apr. 12.
With Boyd off Toronto’s active roster, the team can increase their deadline cap space before pulling the trigger on a trade.