Friedman: Maple Leafs still in the mix to sign UFA Jack Roslovic

We’ve reached the genuine dog days of summer in the hockey world. We’re over a month removed from the start of free agency, meaning that most of if not all of the notable free agents available this summer have found new homes.

One of the players who hasn’t found a new home yet is forward Jack Roslovic, a former Winnipeg Jets first-round pick who has spent his more recent years with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes, with a quick stop in a New York Rangers uniform mixed in. He had 22 goals last season, so there’s clearly a valuable player here, but for one reason or another, he hasn’t been signed yet.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the teams who are believed to be in the mix to sign Roslovic, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that the Maple Leafs are still in the mix on a recent edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.

“I’ve heard there’s still a few teams looking at him. He’s the best available player remaining, and obviously, he hasn’t found anything he 100 percent likes, but there’s definitely a few teams poking around there. I’ve heard five or six, so he has to get to something he’s comfortable with, and we know with Toronto, they’re trying to move money around.” -Elliotte Friedman

The Maple Leafs currently have an abundance of depth forwards, with the recent additions of Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli, and Michael Pezzetta. Factor in that they still have the likes of David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Robertson, and Bobby McMann under contract, and it looks like there’s going to be a real dog fight for roster spots in 2025-26. In regards to the ‘moving money around’ comment from Friedman, it’s fair to assume that means Kampf and Jarnkrok could be on the way out eventually, considering that the former saw his role dwindle as the year progressed last season and the latter never really found his footing after missing a big chunk of the season with injuries.

Roslovic is coming off a one-year contract that paid him $2.8 million in 2024-25.