The deals keep on coming as the NHL’s free agent frenzy moves into its third day.
The Toronto Maple Leafs got in on the action in a big way on Friday night, agreeing to terms with forward Calle Jarnkrok on a four-year contract worth an average annual value of $2.1 million.
The details of the deal, which now ties Jarnkrok to Toronto through the 2025-26 season, such as its salary structure and the inclusion of any trade protection have yet to be determined.
Well, this was unexpected.
Jarnkrok is a versatile player — someone who is pretty good at basically everything while being particularly great at nothing.
The 30-year-old was one of the lone bright spots on a horrible Seattle Kraken team for most of last season, racking up an impressive 12 goals and 26 points in 49 games for the club while playing alongside little viable talent and logging nearly 17 minutes in ice time per night.
Jarnkrok, in fact, was reportedly one of the Maple Leafs’ top targets at the trade deadline this past winter, given the familiarity he has with former agent Kyle Dubas, before ultimately heading to Calgary.
In 17 games with the Flames, Jarnkrok failed to make much of a statistical impact down the stretch and into the playoffs, finishing his regular season tenure with the club with just four total assists. But despite the lack of boxscore results, Jarnkrok was still a dependable possession player who tilted the ice in his team’s favor in Calgary, helping the Flames capture 51.61 percent of the expected goals during his even-strength usage, as well as 50.6 percent of the available scoring chances.
For a middle-to-bottom-six forward capable of playing any position, killing penalties, and pushing the pace of play at five-on-five while chipping in 10-15 goals per year, Jarnkrok is a nice little deft add by a Maple Leafs team looking to revamp the lower half of its forward corps.
And at a $2.1 million AAV, he might even end up being a bargain, too.
