3 Trade Destinations for Maple Leafs’ Calle Jarnkrok

The Penguins are in an interesting situation; they aren’t doing as well as they would have liked. This will most likely result in them selling off pieces at the deadline, like Jake Guentzel. However, when a team has a player like Sidney Crosby, you can’t expect them to sell off and go into a full-on rebuild. This is why Jarnkrok could be an option. He can easily score 20 goals at the NHL level, and he did it last season with the Maple Leafs. He can also dig for pucks and dish them to Crosby or Evengi Malkin. It makes sense for the Penguins to look at Jarnkrok if they go into a small retool. The biggest challenge would be the salary cap, but if they do move Guentzel, they may have space to take on Jarnkrok’s entire $2.1 million cap hit.

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have been awful this season. It is unfortunate for the team and fan base because they aren’t as bad as their record says. Regardless, there is still something that doesn’t feel right with the Sabres, and chances are that GM Kevyn Adams will try to change the mix of players between the NHL Trade Deadline and free agency. However, it is unlikely that these two teams would make a deal together, given their history with one another. It may make sense for them to work out a deal.

Treliving could target a depth defenceman and/or a bottom-six player like Jordan Greenway, and Adams could bring in a veteran who can put the puck in the net. The Sabres have a lot of young talent on their team, and when you have that, you need to surround them with veterans who aren’t just nearing the end of their careers or are reclamation projects. Often, you need veterans who can still play at a high level, which is what Jarnkrok can bring to the Sabres’ lineup. The Sabres are in a good spot with their salary cap and could take Jarnkrok’s full contract on without retention, but they will most likely want to move out a roster player in a trade.

Vancouver Canucks

The last team that makes sense for Jarnkrok is the Vancouver Canucks. They have proven to the entire NHL that they are all in this season and may still want to add. So far this season, they have traded for Nikita Zadorov as well as Elias Lindholm, both from the Flames, in separate trades. Patrick Alvin, the Canucks’ GM, may be interested in bringing in fellow Swedish countryman Jarnkrok. Like the Penguins listed above, the Canucks would need to move a roster player to acquire him from the Maple Leafs. 

The Canucks could be looking to upgrade any of their weaker players in their bottom six, which is where Jarnkrok would play in Vancouver. There is a world where they would find a new home for Ilya Mikheyev based on his $4.75 million cap hit over the next three seasons. This would clear up the salary cap issue to take on Jarnkrok; however, Treliving would most likely want something in return. Sam Lafferty is a name that the Maple Leafs traded to the Canucks before the season and could look at reacquiring. If not, there also could be a chance that this is just a cap dump for a draft pick or two if Vancouver could find the cap space to acquire him.

Trading players like Jarnkrok is typically a 50/50 chance. If Treliving has something up his sleeve to make a huge splash, then we could see Jarnkrok packing his bags. However, if Treliving can acquire pieces and keep him, then I think there is a chance that it could happen. Although it is fairly clear that the Maple Leafs have players who can replace him, you might as well use him as a cap dump and utilize that $2.1 million to acquire someone to help the blue line.