Report: Maple Leafs no longer in position to add Jack Roslovic

The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly not as interested in signing Jack Roslovic due to being loaded up front, according to NHL Insider Chris Johnston.

He shared the report on Monday’s episode of The Chris Johnston Show, highlighting that they would need to clear out some space before making any additions.

“ I don’t see the Leafs as being as much a fit right now, just cause if anything, they have too many forwards in camp,” he said. “They’re probably facing a scenario at some point before getting into the season where a forward or maybe two are on the move somewhere.  It could just be through waivers, could be being sent down to the American Hockey League, but I don’t see them necessarily being in an adding position this moment.”

Johnston also reported that Roslovic was offered deals near the start of free agency that hovered between two and three-year ranges with an AAV between $3.5M and $3.75M. He opted not to take those offers and wait for one that was more to his liking, but new ones never materialized the rest of the summer. Roslovic has also changed agents midway through the offseason and now will more likely have to pivot towards a prove-it deal to hopefully position himself towards that payday he was seeking.

This marks the latest update in the ongoing Roslovic saga involving the Leafs, dating back to July 6th when Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said the team was in on the player. Friedman followed that up a month later by mentioning the Leafs were one of five teams keeping tabs on Roslovic, while Frank Seravalli mentioned the Leafs were in the mix as recently as August 22nd.

The fact that this much time has passed without a deal suggests that the likelihood of Roslovic ending up in Toronto has shrunk significantly, especially now that the preseason has started and the regular season is nearly two weeks away. This makes sense given GM Brad Treliving hinted that the Leafs were likely going to stick with what they have on September 3rd.

“We’re always looking,” he told Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. “I don’t think you ever stop. Whether it happens or not, we’ll see. We’ve got a lot of bodies right now, so we’ll see. More than likely, unless something changes, we’ll go with what we’ve got and see where it all sorts itself out.”

Johnston did highlight that any team like the Leafs that had tabs on Roslovic could have their plans change if one of their primary options gets injured and they circle back to him. Even still, this wouldn’t solve the issues of having too many forwards good enough to play in the NHL, so the team would still need to make offsetting moves. That’s not to say the door has completely closed on the option of bringing him in, but Leafs Nation shouldn’t hold their breath that a Roslovic signing is imminent.

He is coming off a 39-point season (22 goals and 17 assists), which had him sixth on the Carolina Hurricanes in scoring while adding four points (a goal and three assists) in nine playoff games.