Predators Loss Could be Toronto Maple Leafs Gain
The Toronto Maple Leafs could use the upcoming Expansion Draft to trade for a player from a team who otherwise wouldn’t make him available.
One of those teams is the Nashville Predators.
The expansion rules are that teams can protect three defenseman and seven forwards, for ten total players. Or they can opt to protect eight position players in any combination.
That means that if the Predators want to keep all four of their excellent, top-pairing defenseman (P.K Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm) then they’ll get to protect only four forwards.
If they only protect four forwards (Presumably Ryan Johanson, James Neal, Filip Forsberg and Victor Arvidsson) they’ll expose excellent forwards like Calle Jarncrok, Colin Wilson, Craig Smith.
What it means to the Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs could benefit from the Predators expansion trouble in one of two ways.
First, and it is unlikely, the Predators could make either Ellis or Ekholm available in a trade. As Ellis is right-handed, the Leafs would have major interest. Ellis is a first-rate player and likely to eventually be a star player, if he’s not already.
It would be costly, but acquiring him would be a significant upgrade to even the highest hopes of the team’s most optimistic fan.
What is far more likely, is that the Predators would have to expose Calle Jarnkrok. Were this to be the case, it would be worth it for the Leafs to try and acquire him, and then use one of their protection spots on him, rather than protect some combo of Rychel, Leipsic, Leivo, Bozak or Martin, as Jarnkrok is an upgrade on all of them.
Jarnkrok is a centre who, while not overly big, provides solid defense and is an adept shot-suppressor. He posted a shots-allowed per sixty-minutes rating of 26.55. Jarnkrok also picked up 12 5v5 goals and was a positive possession player. Those are the stats of an excellent player.
For the Leafs he would be an upgrade over Tyler Bozak, and be maybe the League’s best fourth line centre when Nylander becomes a centre. Also, he is, for some inexplicable reason, locked up for only a $2 million cap hit until 2021. That means that dollar-for-dollar, he’s probably one of the best values in the NHL.
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There is basically no way the Predators can keep him without moving one of Ellis or Ekholm, so the Toronto Maple Leafs need to try and take advantage of the Predators predicament.
Calle Jarnkrok would make a fine addition to the Maple Leafs lineup.