Joined: Aug. 2020
Posts: 178
Likes: 95
Engvall (and about a million dollars of his cap hit) can be buried in the minors without having to clear waivers. He's going to have to be amazing to make the opening night roster. Ditto for Robertson. I don't think either make the opening night roster.
Their spots are likely taken by Barabanov and Vesey. Because they were recruited. And they were recruited to play in the NHL. If you don't give Barabanov a proper chance to be an impactful NHL player, it will make signing other European players in the future much more difficult.
Also, as I mentioned with Engvall, there are waivers to consider. Vesey is not waiver exempt, and the Leafs are not paying him 900k to sit in the press box.
Injuries happen. Scratches happen. These players will all get a chance. There's no rush to get them to the NHL, and no rush to get Engvall expansion exposed eligible.
Of course this is just my humble opinion.