Report: Maple Leafs place Bo Groulx on waivers

Groulx will be assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies if he is able to clear waivers on Tuesday. He is in the final year of a two-year contract carrying an AAV of $812.5K, so someone claiming him off waivers will not help solve the Leafs’ tagging rules dilemma.

Groulx made the team out of training camp, winning a spot over Steven Lorentz who went on to be included in the Kirill Marchenko-Matthew Knies blockbuster. Despite that, Groulx was never able to make a strong enough impression to earn a permanent spot in the rotation and eventually got usurped by Zack MacEwen.

The 26-year-old recorded three goals and five points in 13 games with the Leafs last season as one of the lone bright spots during the darkest portion of the campaign. He spent the majority of last year with the Marlies, registering  28 goals and 52 points in 59 regular season contests while adding eight goals and 14 points in 23 postseason contests to help his team to the Calder Cup.

Groulx played in seven games with the Leafs, where he went scoreless prior to being placed on waivers. It is worth noting that the majority of those games occurred in the first few weeks of the season, and he had only played twice since their win over the Colorado Avalanche on October 10th.  His most recent game on October 28th saw him get just 6:23 of ice time while registering only one shot on goal.

Perhaps he could be a factor again for the Leafs down the line if they run into injury trouble, but it makes sense why he is heading back to the AHL for the time being. The Leafs return to action on Tuesday against the Utah Mammoth, while the Marlies will play the Hamilton Hammers on Wednesday.