The Toronto Maple Leafs are fortunate to have a player as versatile as Calle Jarnkrok.
He can move up and down the lineup, play on either the power play or penalty kill, and has both offensive and defensive upside. He is the Toronto Maple Leafs version of a Swiss Army knife.
When the Leafs signed Jarnkrok on July 15th, 2022, to a four-year deal worth $8.4 million, many fans were asking, who is Calle Jarnkrok?
He showed them who he was with 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points in 73 games last season. Not bad for a player making $2.1 million a season. (Stats from hockey-reference.com) (Salary cap info: capfriendly.com)
Toronto Maple Leafs Need More from Calle Jarnkrok
Jarnkrok is already on pace to finish with better stats than he did last season. He currently has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 26 games. That puts him on pace for 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points in 82 games. For a player thought of as secondary scoring, those are good stats.
Last season, Jarnkrok had six points in his first 20 games. However, he’s registered 11 points in his first 20 games this season. Jarnkrok has two goals and three assists for five points in his last six games.
The main area where I would like to see Jarnkrok improve is during the playoffs. After 20 goals in the regular season, he registered one goal and two assists for three points in 11 playoff games. The Toronto Maple Leafs will need more out of him to have a playoff success.
During the pre-season, many didn’t know if Jarnkrok would still be with the Leafs this season.
With the new acquisitions made by new general manager Brad Treliving, Jarnkrok and his $2.1 million looked to be the odd man out. However, the Leafs traded away Sam Lafferty instead. Some have questioned if keeping Jarnkrok over Lafferty was the right call, but both have similar point totals.
I don’t view Lafferty as versatile as Jarnkrok. Therefore, I think the Leafs made the right decision in keeping Jarnkrok. It’s working out for him and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hopefully, he will continue his current pace and set new career bests in goals and points.