One possible sweetener for the Leafs in the Matt Murray deal; it makes too much sense to be a coincidence
The last 48 hours have been flooded with Matt Murray to Toronto rumours and reports and it sounds like the deal is on the one yard line, pending the results of a comprehensive medical exam to ensure that he's able to play. At this point, everything seems like a formality and that we could soon hear of a deal being struck between the two Atlantic Division rivals.
If a deal does indeed get done, it is expected that the Sens and possibly an additional team could retain salary on Murray, which could see him land in Toronto at a sub-$2M cap hit, which would give the Leafs plenty of room under the cap to keep adding - even more if Kerfoot and Holl are moved.
One of the biggest points of interest in the Murray to Toronto deal is the addition of a "sweetener" for the Leafs, who would essentially be doing the Sens a favour, sparing them from having to buy out Murray and pay the penalty for 4 years. As far as who that sweetener might be, well all there is at this point is pure speculation.
I did some research on the Sens to see what sort of prospects might fit the bill for the Leafs to take on the last two years of Murray's deal and I came across something very interesting. Two fairly substantial Sens prospects are missing from their development camp roster; 19-year-old Roby Jarventie and 22-year-old Egor Sokolov. Both players were 2020 2nd round picks by the Sens, Jarventie going 33rd overall and Sokolov going 61st overall.
I did some digging and could not find any reports indicating that either player is injured or recovering from offseason surgery, which begs the question; why would the Sens leave two quality prospects out of their development camp? Could one or both be sweeteners in a potential Matt Murray deal?
As far as Sokolov goes, there's a fairly simple explanation as to why he's not listed. If he's back in Russia, he could be in the same boat as several other NHL prospects and players who are currently stuck over in Russia and unable to get back into North America. For some, it's a work visa issue, and for others it's a mandatory military service issue. I don't know what the case might be for Sokolov, if that's even what it is at all, but it could be one reason why he is not attending development camp.
Jarventie, on the other hand, has no known injuries, and is someone who would otherwise almost certainly be in attendance for development camp. The only thing that makes sense to me is that Jarventie is involved in the Murray deal. I'm not basing this off of anything other than common sense and some leg work to determine his health status, so maybe there is a perfectly good reason aside from injury that is preventing him from being present at camp, but since the Murray deal is so close and we know there's going to be a sweetener of some sort, it stands to reason that Jarventie could be involved in the deal. The only other scenario that makes sense is that he is back in Finland practicing with the WJC team for the World Juniors next month, but there would have been more than enough time to take part in development camp before heading back to Finland to prepare for the WJC tournament.
Jarventie, LW, is listed by Elite Prospects at 6'3, 205 lbs and has a shooter's mentality. He also plays a very responsible two-way game and has a high hockey IQ and makes good decisions, which is something that we know the Leafs have coveted of late. While he may not be one of the Sens' top prospects, he is certainly a good one and if the Leafs can manage to walk away with Murray at 50% retained plus a prospect like Roby Jarventie, I'd say that's a tidy piece of work - depending on what the Leafs might be sending back of course.
