Nielsen was caught in a logjam on the Marlies, who are becoming fairly stacked with left shot defenceman. Ahead of him on the depth chart are Calle Rosen, who is playing at a fantastic clip in the AHL, and new first round pick, Rasmus Sandin, has taken very well to the AHL and is quickly ascending the depth chart in the Leafs organization. There is also Andreas Borgman, who played 48 games in the NHL last year and could probably be playing in the NHL for certain teams. Combined with the Maple Leafs D core that is also stacked down the left with Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott — all of who are going to be there long or long’ish term — and there is no room for Neilsen to prove himself at the AHL level, no room to strive for at the NHL level, and staying in limbo is doing nothing for his development.
Andrew Nielsen traded to the Calgary Flames for Morgan Klimchuk
