Kerfoot, McCann, Dermott among Maple Leafs unprotected for Seattle expansion draft

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The Maple Leafs have left forwards Alex Kerfoot and Jared McCann and defenceman Travis Dermott unprotected for the Seattle Kraken expansion draft on Wednesday.

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As we surmised a few days ago, Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas went with protecting eight skaters and a goalie, rather than protecting seven forwards, three defencemen and a goalie.

There was no surprise with the Leafs’ protected list when we saw it on Sunday morning.

Forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, defencemen Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie, Jake Muzzin, Justin Holl and goalie Jack Campbell have been protected.

When the Leafs on Saturday acquired McCann from the Pittsburgh Penguins for prospect Filip Hallander and a seventh-round pick in 2023, it appeared to be an indication that in McCann, Dubas was getting the replacement for Kerfoot.

One avenue of thinking is that the Leafs have an agreement in place with the Kraken — especially since assistant coach Dave Hakstol departed Toronto to become the Kraken’s head coach — ensuring that Seattle takes Kerfoot. Or, at the least, that Seattle does not take McCann.

The list of Leafs players under contract who have been exposed also includes forwards Pierre Engvall, Jason Spezza, Wayne Simmonds, Adam Brooks, Joey Anderson, Nic Petan and goaltender Michael Hutchinson.

Among the Leafs exempt from the draft are forwards Ilya Mikheyev and Nick Robertson, defencemen Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren and goalie Joseph Woll.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

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