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Toronto Maple Leafs: Who Will be the First Player Traded this Season?

By Michael Jacobs

TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 8: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs extends his team point scoring streak to 21 games with a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on December 8, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 8: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs extends his team point scoring streak to 21 games with a goal against the Los Angeles Kings during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on December 8, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 14: Calle Jarnkrok #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs  . (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Toronto Maple Leafs Most Likely to be Traded: #3 Calle Jarnkrok

Could Calle Jarnkrok be the first player to get traded under the new regime?

Plenty of outsiders think Calle Järnkrok could be the first Leaf to fall off the tree, mainly due to the $2.1M AAV (capfriendly.com) that he carries and the toe tap dance Treliving will need to perform for the team to stay under $83.5M (total team amount).

The Leafs are currently over the salary cap, and getting rid of Jarnkrok would go a long way towards fixing that.

Notwithstanding his chameleon-like ability to blend seamlessly onto any of the four lines head coach Sheldon Keefe deploys, the Leafs do not stand to gain more than a mid-round draft pick or a player similar to his abilities for Järnkrok.

Therefore, not trading the versatile forward would be the better move for Treliving, unless he is packaged with Nylander or someone else to balance out salaries in a blockbuster trade.

Järnkrok can kill penalties and was decent on the second power-play unit last season. He can be a streaky scorer and did post 20 goals last season, so there is lots of upside to a relatively seasoned player, who can add punch on the third-line.

Still, he’s not one of those players that would be terribly missed and any one of the budding Toronto Marlies could fill this line-up spot at a fraction of the price.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs could find a way to include him in a multi-player trade, Järnkrok could be changing his phone number quite soon.

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