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Leafs still $3M over the cap; here's who an ex-Leaf believes will be traded to make the team cap compliant

The Toronto Maple Leafs still currently sit nearly $3M over the NHL's $83.5M salary cap, even with Jake Muzzin and Matt Murray on LTIR, which could create some complications for the team if Brad Treliving and Brandon Pridham don't come up with a solution, and fast.

During the most recent edition of Leafs Morning Take, hosts Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill discussed one of the options that the Leafs have to get back under the salary cap, which is to look at the idea of potentially moving Calle Jarnkrok and his $2.1M cap hit.

Alberga was opposed to the idea, but when he turned the question over the Rosehill, the former Leaf put the discussion into perspective, stating that sometimes, if you want to become cap compliant, you have to shed a contract that another team will actually want. Here's what Rosehill had to say on the subject:

"You can't just ditch some nobody that's worthless to you and say 'now we're cap compliant'. I mean, the reality is, I think you're going to be a couple million over the cap, and if you want to get under it, you have to shed that. Putting an $800,000 guy that may or may not even be on the roster isn't going to cut it and you're not going to unload garbage to some team. They're not going to take it. Jarnkrok makes [$2.1M], he's valuable to other teams. He's versatile, he can play up and down the lineup and chip in, and if you need to get under that number... he's a guy that can probably get it done."

The Leafs technically may not need to move anyone to become cap compliant, but it will leave them in a bit of a precarious position in that they'd need to run a 20-man roster and waive or demote a couple of players that could actually help the team. Rosehill doesn't like the idea of the Leafs running with a 20-man roster. He believes that the Leafs will be at their best if they're rolling a 23-man roster and they simply can't do that if they're so tight against the cap.

Alberga proposed the potential idea of handcuffing a prospect like Nick Robertson to a less-desirable contract and pulling off a significant trade to free up the necessary space. Rosehill pointed out that a situation like that could end up being problematic if Robertson is dealt to allow the Leafs to retain Jarnkrok and flourishes elsewhere while Jarnrkok has a mediocre season in Toronto. Certainly a fair concern.

Honestly, having seen how Pridham works in the past, I'm willing to bet that the Leafs already have a plan in place to become cap compliant and we'll know what that plan is in less than a month's time.

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

Prominent Leafs forward gives a Leafs prospect a huge vote of confidence ahead of the 2023-24 season

Former Leaf goes on a heated rant about how Mike Babcock handles himself behind closed doors

Former Leaf fires shots at Babcock following allegations

POLL
13 SEPTEMBRE \| 113 ANSWERS Leafs still $3M over the cap; here's who an ex-Leaf believes will be traded to make the team cap compliant Will Calle Jarnkrok and his $2.1M cap hit be on the Maple Leafs' roster on opening night?
Yes	81	71.7 %
No	32	28.3 %
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