Calle Jarnkrok departed Maple Leafs practice midway through the workout on Saturday.
No, the veteran forward was not being summoned to general manager Brad Treliving’s office at the Ford Performance Centre to tell him he was being traded.
Could it happen before the Leafs open the 2024-25 regular season on Oct. 9 in Montreal against the Canadiens?
Something is going to have to give in the next week or so. With the Leafs sitting at $1,069,667 over the salary cap (via ), they’re going to have to get compliant before they hit the ice in Montreal.
And take into consideration the status of forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz, each in camp on a professional tryout.
Since his name initially was linked to the Leafs during the off-season, the assumption that Pacioretty eventually would be signed was in place. Nothing in camp has led anyone to believe that won’t happen. In playing with John Tavares, the Leafs think it can lead to a rejuvenation for Pacioretty, who scored just seven goals in 53 games in the past two seasons as his participation was limited because of injuries.
There is growing belief that a contract awaits Lorentz as well. At 6-foot-4, 216 pounds, Lorentz wasn’t invited to camp only because his presence would increase intensity in the fight for jobs in the bottom six. It was because Treliving and the staff figured Lorentz could add an honest, physical element to the fourth line. That’s what Lorentz has brought.
Speculation has started whether the Leafs are willing to part with Jarnkrok, who is recovering from a lower-body issue as he works his way back to being a full-time participant in practice. Jarnkrok has a cap hit of $2.1 million this season and next and has a 10-team no-trade list.
Then there’s David Kampf, who, frankly, is overpaid at $2.4 million, a cap hit he carries in each of the next three seasons. Kampf also has a 10-team no-trade list. Fourth-line centres are a dime a dozen, and Pontus Holmberg, who makes $800,000 and will be a restricted free agent, is a good (and much less expensive) option. Ditto for Connor Dewar, who can’t be forgotten as he works his way back from off-season shoulder surgery.
The Leafs’ top six on the blue line appears to be set with Morgan Rielly, Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit and Timothy Liljegren.
If Conor Timmins is not in the plans, moving his $1.1-million contract would alleviate some of the cap stress.
Defenceman Jani Hakanpaa could start practising in the coming days — that was the hope of coach Craig Berube on Saturday — and once he is good to go after recovering from a knee injury, he’s going to be in the top six. That would knock Timmins further down the depth chart.
There is the possibility that the Leafs could start the season with Hakanpaa and Dewar on long-term injured reserve, which would solve some cap problems. But both are skating, and both will be eager to get back as soon as possible.
If Treliving makes a trade in the coming days, he’s going to take a similar path to what he did a year ago when cap space was required. Forward Sam Lafferty was traded to the Vancouver Canucks days before the regular season started, with a fifth-round pick coming back to Toronto.
One player who shouldn’t be traded, despite his earlier wish, is Nick Robertson.
Given the proper opportunity, a 20-goal year should be in the cards for the 23-year-old. After all, Robertson scored 14 goals in 56 games last season despite averaging just 11 minutes 23 second of ice time a game. If Robertson was disappointed that an off-season trade request didn’t come to fruition, he has not demonstrated as much during camp.
There remains enough time for Treliving and his cap guru, assistant general manager Brandon Pridham, to make the finances line up. How exactly they go about doing it remains the question.
LOOSE LEAFS
Winger Bobby McMann didn’t practise on Saturday, getting the day off for maintenance. “He’s one of the guys who is a little sore and banged up a little from camp, but he’s fine,” Berube said … Tavares got another day off to rest after he had some lower-body stiffness during the preseason win against the Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday … Berube on Hakanpaa: “He has done really well. There was a process when he got here, and I think the process has been going well.” … With just two preseason games remaining, a home-and-home set with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday in Detroit and Saturday in Toronto, the expectation is that Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz each will get a full game in net … This was Berube’s take on the Leafs on Saturday morning, with camp and the preseason at the midway point: “I’m excited and happy where the team’s at. But in saying that, there’s still a lot of work to do. The (penalty) kill is new. We have to keep working on it. We got to keep working on defensive zone, coming into our zone. There’s a lot of things still got to spend time on. Next week is a really important week for us in practice.” … The Leafs will head to Muskoka on Monday afternoon for getaway that will last a couple of days and involve a practice in the area. “It’s important,” Ryan Reaves said. “It’s just a way to get to know the new guys a little better, come together as a team and have some fun before you get into the grind and emotions of the first couple of weeks.”
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