Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jimmy Vesey, Montreal Canadiens winger Paul Byron, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Anton Forsberg and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Mikhail Grigorenko were all placed on waivers Tuesday.

Vesey, 27, has five goals and seven points in 30 games this season. He joined the Maple Leafs as a free agent in the off-season on a one-year, $900,000 deal. Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said the move was made in part due to salary cap reasons.

“I thought that competition [for spots early in the season] really fuelled great performances from those [bottom-six] players," Dubas said. "But really when Campbell came off long-term injured reserve [in late February] and back onto the roster, but has now been sort of day-to-day here [with a lower-body injury], it has sort of limited what we can do, especially because we don't have much waiver flexibility with those guys on the lower end of our roster.

"And so one of the things we're looking to do is to increase our flexibility on the roster, but also as Campbell gets closer to return and [Wayne] Simmonds gets closer to returning [from a wrist injury], we do have to do some juggling with the cap situation."

The Canadiens said Byron was waived for assignment to the team's taxi squad. He cleared waivers on Feb. 15, when the team used the same reasoning.  In 27 games this season, the 31-year-old has two goals and seven points.

Byron is signed through the 2022-23 season at a cap hit of $3.4 million.

Forsberg was claimed off waivers by the Jets in January from the Carolina Hurricanes. The 28-year-old has not appeared in a game this season.

Grigorenko, 26, returned to the NHL this season with the Blue Jackets on a $1.2 million deal after three seasons in the KHL. He has two goals and seven points in 18 games this season.