Where’s the fit for Calle Jarnkrok and the Maple Leafs when he’s ready to play?

The last time we saw Calle Jarnkrok was in the preseason. He played one full game and his departure during the second game led to a five month absence that seems to be coming to an end as Jarnkrok has begun skating with the team and could potentially soon embark on a conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies.

The return of Jarnkrok is an interesting situation for the Maple Leafs. On the positive side of things, you never want to see a player struggling with their health, and Jarnkrok being ready to go is encouraging. His jack of all trades skill set in theory makes life a lot easier for Craig Berube as having an adaptable forward capable of sound defensive play and tertiary offence is something that on paper the Leafs can benefit from.

The flipside of that is that Jarnkrok’s return eats up a big chunk of the Maple Leafs’ remaining cap space. And if Jarnkrok’s return coincides with the return of Jani Hakanpaa, the Leafs likely have just enough room for the two players on the Leafs after potentially Philippe Myers and Alex Steeves are demoted to the Marlies. Not the ideal cap flexibility the Leafs would want heading into the trade deadline.

There is also the matter of the lingering impression of Calle Jarnkrok as a playoff performer for the Maple Leafs. Some of that could be from Sheldon Keefe deploying Jarnkrok in situations not best suited for him, but nevertheless, Jarnkrok is one of the many Leafs who is looked at as having something to prove in the spring. As a 33-year old bottom six forward, Jarnkrok isn’t going to get the same leeway as someone like Mitch Marner and it could just be seen as easiest to just move on from Jarnkrok.

A trade really is the first thing to consider with Calle Jarnkrok and there might be a soft market for him similar to how there could be one for David Kampf. Jarnkrok’s penalty killing abilities could be used in a number of places around the league, he comes with better offence outcomes than David Kampf at the expense of not being as strong as centre, and like Kampf, has a 10-team no trade clause and cap hit just north of $2M. Moving Jarnkrok is possible and players like Minten, Holmberg, Dewar, and Lorentz might have some of his bottom six characteristics slightly redundant, so a trade seems like a very real possibility.

Where does Jarnkrok fit on the Leafs?

The Leafs aren’t going to move everyone and in fact, they might not move anyone at all between now and the trade deadline. As such, planning for where Jarnkrok fits is a reasonable thing to do. Craig Berube has shown his initial intentions for Jarnkrok by playing him with Max Domi and William Nylander in the preseason. The idea of taking three could be centres and putting them together made some sense, but now that Craig Berube has attempted to coach defensive responsibility to Domi and Nylander and admitted defeat, it’s entirely possible that he doesn’t see Jarnkrok as capable of offsetting Domi and Nylander together.

Jarnkrok also saw time with Cedric Pare and Nikita Grebenkin in the preseason, which could mirror playing with Steven Lorentz and Connor Dewar on the Leafs fourth line. At least initially the idea of bringing Jarnkrok back into the fold with fourth line responsibilities seems to make sense and gives him a regular shift as well as likely makes him capable of sheltering Leafs forwards like Domi and Robertson if the play returns to the Leafs end and they prematurely need to get off the ice.

While the Jarnkrok and Holmberg combination during the playoffs didn’t go as planned, it could also come down to the role they were being utilized in. As a third line, that duo wasn’t idea, but together on a fourth line, the Leafs could see some improved results as well.

The 2023-24 season saw Jarnkrok play primarily with Domi and Robertson as his linemates, and given that at the moment they are all still here, that remains a possibility as well, and it mirrors some of what Berube was testing during the preseason as well, although with even more of the issues that would come with the Domi and Nylander line combination. It would benefit from heavier sheltering than a Nylander line would have.

Jarnkrok also benefited from being the easy choice to move up the lineup when there were injuries to players on the top two lines. This season it might be a bit more competitive and situational for Jarnkrok given players like Bobby McMann and Max Pacioretty are equally capable of stepping up as well. Pacioretty might be an interesting linemate for Jarnkrok as well given they are two thirds of a line you don’t hate having on the ice and are capable of some offence.

The biggest selling point for having Jarnkrok around is the fact that he seems capable of playing with anyone and if the Leafs are making changes between now and the trade deadline, Jarnkrok might be the ideal player to put with a new centre that is adapting to life on the Leafs. I’m not sure you can make a case for other Leafs’ bottom six forwards making their linemates lives easier.

Data from Natural Stat Trick