Ex-NHLer identifies which Maple Leaf is most likely to be traded before the season

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Mike Armenti
September 13, 2023 (2:20 PM)

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Even with Jake Muzzin and Matt Murray on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), the Toronto Maple Leafs still find themselves nearly $3M over the salary cap and in need of a solution sooner rather than later. Some have suggested that the Leafs will play with a 20-man roster, having players like Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg beginning the season in the AHL. Others believe a trade will be necessary for the team to become cap complaint.

During the most recent edition of Leafs Morning Take, host Nick Alberga and former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill discussed the idea of moving one player in specific - Calle Jarnkrok and his $2.1M cap hit, which would almost singlehandedly solve the Leafs' cap problems.

While Alberga was against the idea, Rosehill made a compelling argument in favour of moving Jarnkrok, even after a career year. His main point in this case was that teams don't usually tend to line up to take players with no value. He sees value in Jarnkrok, so it would stand to reason that other teams see some value there as well.

"You can't just ditch some nobody that's worthless to you and say 'now we're cap compliant'. I mean, the reality is, I think you're going to be a couple million over the cap, and if you want to get under it, you have to shed that. Putting an $800,000 guy that may or may not even be on the roster isn't going to cut it and you're not going to unload garbage to some team. They're not going to take it. Jarnkrok makes [$2.1M], he's valuable to other teams. He's versatile, he can play up and down the lineup and chip in, and if you need to get under that number... he's a guy that can probably get it done."

If Brandon Pridham and Brad Treliving already have a plan in place, it wouldn't be a huge surprise. We have seen Pridham work his magic on a number of occasions and while the Leafs' current cap situation may appear problematic on the surface, something tells me that we'll have a solution sooner rather than later.