The Toronto Maple Leafs have extended qualifying offers to six of their nine restricted free agents.

Forwards Peter Holland and Josh Leivo, defencemen Martin Marincin, Frank Corrado and Connor Carrick and goaltender Garret Sparks were all qualified. Defenceman Stuart Percy, and forwards Sam Carrick and Colin Smith were not. They now become unrestricted free agents.

If the player signs his qualifying offer, or ends up in salary arbitration with the team, he can’t accept an offer sheet from another team. If he declines his qualifying offer, he remains an RFA.

Percy was drafted in the first round, 25th overall, by the Leafs in the 2011 draft. He has played 12 games total for Toronto since then, notching three assists. Tyler Biggs was the other first-round selection the Leafs made that season. He has never made an NHL appearance.

Holland has been a consistent presence for the Leafs since arriving from Anaheim during the 2013-14 season. He put up 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) the following year and 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in 2015-16, a good indication of what peak production from the 25-year-old will look like going forward. Holland compares to a player like Lars Eller, just traded to the Washington Capitals from the Montreal Canadiens. Both offer a steady presence in a bottom-six role and can contribute on the penalty kill. With a logjam of centres in the Leafs organization (Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, William Nylander, Brooks Laich and Byron Froese are all in that mix), Holland may be best used on the wing.

A big-bodied (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) winger, Leivo hasn’t seen much time with the Maple Leafs since being drafted in the third round of the 2011 draft. Last season was his most productive campaign, posting five goals in 12 games. He added 12 points (four goals, eight assists) during a Calder Cup playoff run with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies. Leivo is a natural athlete who is comfortable playing on both sides (he’s a right-hand shot). He made the most of his short stint with the Maple Leafs last year, showing he could eventually find work in the bottom-six with Toronto.

Marincin appeared in 65 games last season, posting one goal and six assists on a Leafs team that ranked 25th in goals allowed per game. Head coach Mike Babcock praised Marincin’s potential and paired him for much of the season’s latter half with Morgan Rielly on Toronto’s top defensive unit. Marincin is strongest as a defensive defender. His size (6-foot-4) and reach make opponents nervous entering the zone, and his Corsi rating (53.4 per cent) lends itself well to an analytically minded staff like Toronto’s.

Corrado, the local boy Toronto grabbed off waivers last season from the Vancouver Canucks before promptly making him a healthy scratch for 10 weeks, appeared in 35 games and posted six points (one goal, five assists). Corrado is a reliable puck carrier with obvious poise, whose ice time improved as the season wore on.
A key future piece from the trade last season that sent Daniel Winnik to the Capitals, Connor Carrick skated in 16 games with Toronto, posting four points (two goals, two assists). During the Marlies’ playoff run, Carrick led the team with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists). He’s undersized (5-foot-11) for a defenceman, but his offensive abilities make him an asset, particularly on special teams.

Sparks became the first Maple Leafs goaltender in franchise history to earn a shutout in his NHL debut last season. But after blanking the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Nov. 30, Sparks struggled in the crease alongside James Reimer and then Jonathan Bernier. He made 17 starts, compiling a 6-9-1 record with a 3.02 goals-against average and .893 save percentage. Still, he’s the most experienced goalie in the Leafs’ prospect system.

With Frederik Andersen set to be the No. 1 and Bernier, barring a trade, tapped as his backup, Sparks remaining with Toronto gives them reasonable insurance while they figure out where he, Antoine Bibeau and Kasimir Kaskisuo all fit into the Maple Leafs' future plans.