Two former Toronto Maple Leafs players, Kieffer Bellows and Brett Seney, were placed on waivers on Sunday as teams finalize their rosters for the upcoming regular season.
The Maple Leafs struggled to find a suitable position for either player, leading both to explore opportunities elsewhere. However, those prospects appear to have diminished sooner than expected, as both were waived by their current teams.
Kieffer Bellows, selected 19th overall by the New York Islanders in 2016, had difficulty establishing himself in the NHL. He enjoyed a brief period of success with the Islanders, recording 6 goals and 13 assists in 45 games during one season, but managed only 28 games over the next two seasons between New York and the Philadelphia Flyers, who claimed him off waivers. After scoring 3 goals in 27 games for the Flyers, Bellows joined the Maple Leafs for the 2023-2024 season, where he excelled with the Marlies, netting 27 goals and providing 22 assists. He subsequently signed with the Nashville Predators in the offseason, hoping to translate his AHL performance into an NHL role, but that hasn’t materialized.
Brett Seney, a 5’9″, 156-pound winger drafted 157th overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2015, opted to return to Merrimack College for his entire collegiate career before signing a two-year contract with the Devils. In 2018-2019, he played 51 games for New Jersey, scoring 5 goals and 8 assists, and spent most of the following season in Binghamton. Seney joined the Maple Leafs in 2021, where he skated in two games without registering a point. He had greater success with the Marlies, posting 17 goals and 42 assists, along with 81 penalty minutes. The Chicago Blackhawks signed him for the 2022-2023 season, during which he played sporadically and scored one goal in 11 games.
While the Maple Leafs seem satisfied with their current roster, parting ways with a former top-20 draft pick like Bellows can be a tough decision. Both players have potential yet to be realized, and the right situation could help them thrive. For now, however, they will need to seek new opportunities to continue their professional hockey careers in the 2024-2025 season.