Just one season removed from his first career 20-goal campaign, Nick Alberga believes Calle Jarnkrok will be a real difference-maker for the Maple Leafs this season.
Jarnkrok is the type of player that nearly every team covets. A guy who can both help his team on the scoresheet by scoring in the double digits, but who can also be trusted by his coaches to be able to help shut down the opposition with his solid defensive play.
200-foot players will always have value to a hockey club who has aspirations of winning. Unfortunately for Jarnkrok, his 2023-24 season was an injury-plagued one, which limited him to just 52 games. He finished the campaign with just 10 goals and 21 points over that span.
TLN’s Nick Alberga released an article on Sunday, giving Jarnkrok a little bit of a rub amid all of the trade speculation, suggesting that the Leafs are a better team with Jarnkrok than without and I’m inclined to agree. He also mentioned, though, that Jarnkrok hasn’t been the most productive player in the playoffs, which I also agree with.
Alberga believes that Jarnkrok was a bit of a “teacher’s pet” under Sheldon Keefe, who trusted the versatile forward in all situations. He’s not quite sure where Jarnkrok slots in with Craig Berube at the helm behind the bench now, but he did emphasize that he believes the Jarnkrok revenge tour is going to be full steam ahead this season after a down year last year, identifying what he believes is the perfect spot for the 32-year-old forward.
In a perfect world, I would love Jarnkrok on the fourth line to kick off a playoff series. He’s the type of player that can make a massive difference in that type of role. Having said that, the Leafs don’t possess the depth necessary to make that a reality right now. Instead, he will probably float around a bit until the team establishes an identity.
Mark my words: He will prove to be a useful player next season. I can’t wait until the narrative changes again on him.
Jarnkrok has two seasons remaining on his current deal, which has him earning $2.1M per season.
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