Tue Jun 24 17:47:59 2008

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Leafs waive Raycroft, Wellwood

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Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - The Toronto Maple Leafs shook up their roster on Tuesday, waiving goaltender Andrew Raycroft and forward Kyle Wellwood.

Raycroft was apparently deemed expendable after losing his starting job to Vesa Toskala during last season. Toronto gave Raycroft a three-year deal after acquiring him from the Boston Bruins prior to the 2006-07 season.

Despite a 37-25-9 record with a 2.99 goals against average and a pair of shutouts two years ago, Raycroft faltered to a dismal 2-9-5 mark last season in only 19 games.

The 2004 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year has one year remaining on his deal. If he is unclaimed by another club, he will go into re-entry waivers where the Leafs are liable for half of his $2.2 million salary. One less viable option for Toronto is to demote Raycroft to the AHL, where the franchise would have to pay Raycroft's full salary for the upcoming season.

Wellwood completed his third full pro season by posting eight goals and 21 points in 59 games, but was saddled with a bothersome sports hernia and a minus-12 rating.

As a restricted free agent, Wellwood can be picked up by another team willing to make a qualifying offer.