The Toronto Maple Leafs are still looking to add some talent to their roster and according to a report, they are eyeing up one of the top free agents still available.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on Sunday's episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, the Maple Leafs are looking to sign center Jack Roslovic in free agency this summer to solidify their depth down the middle and provide a little bit of a scoring punch. They will need to do some concurrent moves before they do that, but they have good news.
Roslovic is a 28-year-old center who was a former first-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets all the way back in 2015 and hasn't quite found a solid landing spot despite his talent. He moved to the Columbus Blue Jackets at age 24, after two full seasons in Winnipeg, lasted three more full seasons there until he was traded mid-season to the New York Rangers in a deadline deal in 2024. Roslovic then followed it up by signing a quick, one-year prove-it contract with the Carolina Hurricanes last summer and performed quite well for the Eastern Conference Finalists.
With the Hurricanes last season, Roslovic matched his career-high of 22 goals and earned 39 points in 81 games. He isn't putting up all-world numbers but while averaging just 13:49 TOI per game, he was able to still score a whole lot of goals in a limited opportunity.
Now, with a middle-six center spot open and potential to be the center that strikes at an opponent's throat after they have to pay attention to Auston Matthews and John Tavares all season long, Roslovic appears to be willing to sign with the Maple Leafs. But, as Friedman alluded to on the podcast, the Leafs will need to make some quick trades of some other forwards to clear both a roster spot and some cap space to sign Roslovic. Thankfully, the free agent centerman is willing to wait for them to do that and then sign in Toronto.
All things point to this happening and Roslovic being the bet that the Leafs make to add to their scoring depth.