Latest Update on Calle Jarnkrok May Help Leafs Avoid Making Regretful Move
Calle Jarnkrok has missed the entire season so far, but his LTIR status may help the Leafs with their upcoming roster crunch.
Jarnkrok has skated in just one pre-season game so far this season as he has dealt with a lower-body injury.
Reports were vague as to what exactly the injury was until this past week where it was revealed to be a sports hernia.
Auston Matthews' stint on the IR is coming to an end soon, while it appears as though Max Pacioretty's is just beginning and he could be out for a long time based on Craig Berube's comments Saturday.
Aside from the update on Pacioretty, Berube also updated the media on Jarnkrok's status this weekend. Unfortunately, it did not sound promising.
The Leafs face a roster crunch after activating Connor Dewar from LTIR and are expected to activate Jani Hakanpaa at some point this week as well. Pacioretty is likely headed to the shelf in some capacity, be it IR or LTIR, meaning the Leafs would only need to clear one roster spot for the time-being to activate Hakanpaa.
All signs there point to Matt Benning being the odd man out, but with Jarnkrok still on LTIR, the Leafs are afforded enough cap space to avoid having to move out an additional body. With the roster crunch being felt in Toronto, Jarnkrok's continued absence could mean the flexibility to retain someone like Nick Robertson, Pontus Holmbery or Conor Timmins.
Timmins has found his groove recently and earned praise from Berube after Saturday's win.
While it's disappointing the Leafs don't have the versatile Swede available to them, his absence has inadvertently given them more time to sort through their roster without having to make a rash decision they may regret later this season and has afforded some younger Leafs like Holmberg and Robertson more of an opportunity to take on a larger role.
When Jarnkrok does inevitably become healthy enough to return, it will certainly be interesting to see just how Brad Treliving and Berube decide to shuffle their roster. Who knows? Maybe the Leafs just end up trading the 33-year-old for a draft pick or future considerations and rid themselves of his $2.1M cap hit.
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