Jarnkrok should be easy to sell, need for RFA aged players, and missing the Finns: Leaflets

It’s time to do something. It’s the second day of the draft and the Leafs can finally come to life. What all that entails, who knows, but in addition to having some picks to make it is also an opportunity for the Maple Leafs to take advantage of all 32 GMs being in a dealing mood at the same time. The Leafs have been pretty much “stick to the picks” in past years but without Brendan Shanahan involved and a rejection of the status quo still being very much where the Leafs are at, maybe Brad Treliving will surprise us.

Here are a few stray thoughts as the draft wraps up and free agency approaches:

Jarnkrok watch

I’m not sure it will happen before the draft or after free agency opens but I’d have to imagine there is a least a little bit of a market for Calle Jarnkrok. He might not be the right fit with the Maple Leafs anymore as the bottom six is heading in a different direction, but he still has his jack-of-all-trades tendencies, is a solid veteran, and had a respectable playoff showing alongside Scott Laughton to create some buzz around him.

At $2.1M for one year, Jarnkrok isn’t much of a commitment for most teams and once Jarnkrok’s $1.325M of signing bonus is paid out, he’s only owed $775k of salary throughout the season. As some teams race to get to the cap floor it is easy to see the appeal there as well as for teams that could potentially miss the playoffs, there is a great opportunity to flip Jarnkrok at the trade deadline for a lot more than they’d give the Leafs to acquire him.

Despite Jarnkrok’s 10 team no trade list it seems like he’s an easy option for Toronto to create some additional cap space as well as roster space.

Farewell my Finns

I’ll admit some bias for Topi Niemela and Roni Hirvonen as both were part of the Finnish World Junior team in the year I was covering the World Juniors for The Leafs Nation. Hirvonen’s two-way game, agitating play, and ability to produce greasy goals for his line had me hooked on him.

For Niemela, it was a great opportunity to understand that his game was more than just a record setting offensive showing for a rookie in the Finnish Liiga, but he was a capable defensive player despite his size, and would win puck races and calmly carry the puck out of his zone.

Coming to North America and the Marlies didn’t work out particularly well for either one, especially in an organization that was now prioritizing size.

Niemela will be remembered by most for tossing a meatball up the middle of the ice during his first preseason game with the Leafs and Hirvonen for his horrific eye injury. It didn’t seem that either was given much of a chance after that.

The return to Europe makes sense for both players but I hope that isn’t the last we see of them. I’d have to imagine that the Leafs will retain their NHL rights for as long as possible and rather look at this as them being good players who aren’t developing well under John Gruden and aren’t likely to fit in on Craig Berube’s roster. They will be landing on teams that want them playing their way and can help get them on track for another look down the road.

Unqualified talent

The Leafs need to get younger. The best way probably isn’t through the draft as they don’t have the picks and it will take too long for the players to get into the lineup, but they need to get younger.

Enter Restricted Free Agents that don’t receive qualifying offers.

I love them.

The RFAs often still offer some glimmer of potential, mixed in with some desperation, and generally also point to a cheap contract. Honestly, give me a bottom six of these guys all on one-year deals playing for their NHL lives. This is another bias I’ll gladly own.

The next couple of days will showcase a lot more of these players and insiders have speculated that this summer could have the most impressive crop of unqualified RFAs yet. From the Leafs side of things that might include Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson, and that might not be the worst thing, but more importantly it is a chance for the Leafs to look at some swing for the fences depth as well.

Daily Faceoff already has a few names of note and a couple of them fit with the Leafs need for centre depth and another at their desire to for big, more physical lineup.

Philipp Kurashev had a down year after what looked like a breakout 54-point campaign in 2023-24. His icetime cut by over five minutes a night, but a drop down to a 15-point season will do that. Still, there is something there. He was a 50-point player in the NHL under the right circumstances and if the Leafs can provide him with that, maybe he could do it again and while Kurashev hasn’t played a lot of centre, he is capable of taking it on in spot duty and could add to the organization’s depth in that area especially if players like Kampf, Holmberg, or Lorentz are departing.

Cody Glass is a bit more of a typical bottom six centre and might be a good fit for the Leafs. He’s become more of a defensive option after his WHL scoring abilities failed to materialize in the pro game, and at 6’3 adds some size although not much in the way of a physical presence. If there is anyone in the Leafs Player Development department who is excited about this guy, he seems like a solid option.

Klim Kostin might not be excited for a reunion with Craig Berube as Berube’s Blues were the starting point for the once highly touted prospect that quickly led to him bouncing around the NHL on various fourth lines. Perhaps a reunion where there is a better understanding of what Klim is can get him back to being a viable physical presence that can score garbage goals like he did for the 2022-23 Oilers.

If your reaction to this trio is, “I’m not excited about any of them” I don’t think you are wrong. On paper none of them are particularly compelling but when you consider that teams are going to be taking long looks at older lower production players like Nick Bjugstad, Radek Faksa, Nico Sturm, and others, it seems like cheaper with upside is the way to go.