Oliver Kylington (left) and Givani Smith (right)

Photo credit: Hockey Patrol

If the Maple Leafs wanted to utilize the PTO list to add some talent this training camp, they are down two options as Oliver Kylington and Givani Smith were signed.

With the regular season creeping up on us and training camps about to open up, a lot of NHL teams are finalizing their roster and doing some last minute housekeeping to make sure they are best prepped for the road ahead.

PTO’s are a great way for teams to audition certain players without a commitment in order to see if they could make a different on their team. The Maple Leafs are one of those teams who used it to great effect with Steven Lorentz and Max Pacioretty last year.

Why the PTO Market Just Got Tighter for the Maple Leafs

If they were looking to do the same thing this year however, they just lost out on two potential pieces. It was announced that the Carolina Hurricanes had signed both Oliver Kylington and Givani Smith to PTO agreements on Wednesday.

Both men will get a shot to crack the Hurricanes roster, and both offer a different style of game with Kylington a two-way defenseman meanwhile Smith is a gritty rough n’ tumble type of player who loves to agitate opponents.

Kylington, 28, had five points in 19 games for the Avalanche and Ducks in 2024-25.Smith, 27, had zero points in 13 games in 2024-25 and spent time with San Jose and Colorado last season.

It’s not guaranteed that either man will crack the roster, but it seems that the Hurricanes might be looking to move on from Jack Roslovic and could use the money they save on him to sign one or both of these players for insurance.

Them being off the market now means that Toronto’s choices are slowly getting slimmer. They still have someone like Andreas Athanasiou who could offer some additional offensive help on the cheap; or even bring Pacioretty back on one this season to see how he’s feeling.

But time is of the essence for Brad Treliving so he needs to start acting quickly if he wants any chance of adding any type of insurance to his roster.

What the New Signings Mean for Toronto’s Depth Chart

Well considering that there are slowly more players getting signed to PTO’s, the Maple Leafs might end up missing out on bodies which is going to make their training camp even more important.

Knowing that the battle is going to be between the players already aboard the roster, it’s going to create a lot of opportunities the young players to break out like Easton Cowan, who wouldn’t otherwise get a shot if the Leafs wanted another NHL body on the roster.It’s going to be a fight all throughout camp, and we’ll definitely see a battle between guys like Matias Maccelli and Max Domi for top line duties and we may see nothing solid until opening night.

So while Toronto missed out on Kylington and Smith, they may not need them considering the options they already have internally; which may offer more than either man could anyways.

Previously on HockeyPatrol

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Maple Leafs’ Potential PTO List Suddenly Shrinks Following Two New Signings

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