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Maple Leafs Forward In Real Jeopardy of Losing His Roster Spot
Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
One forward in Toronto has struggled immensely of late and the Maple Leafs may have to make the difficult decision of whether or not to remove him from the lineup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off of a hard-fought 2-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche, marking their second consecutive win. This is a welcome sign for Leafs fans, who had not enjoyed seeing the team struggle in previous games.
Unfortunately, one player who has not found his rhythm since returning from an injury that sidelined him for most of the season is 33-year-old Calle Jarnkrok.
As per Willyston Riellander on X, prior to this week's back-to-back, Jarny has left a lot to be desired:
"It's still early, but Jarnkrok has really struggled so far.
In his 5v5 minutes, [the Leafs] are controlling just 39% of the expected goals and 40% of the shot attempts; he also only has one assist.
[The] Leafs need him to be impactful at $2.1M. It's not an insignificant amount of cap space."
In his 5v5 minutes, [the Leafs] are controlling just 39% of the expected goals and 40% of the shot attempts; he also only has one assist.
[The] Leafs need him to be impactful at $2.1M. It's not an insignificant amount of cap space."
Jarnkrok currently has 3 points in 7 games, which is acceptable, but his underlying statistics have been extremely poor. Combined, these numbers fail to justify his $2.1 million cap hit on a cap-strapped Maple Leafs team.
His lackluster performance has resulted in a demotion to the fourth line, alongside another struggling player, the newly-acquired Scott Laughton.
For Jarnkrok, the writing may be on the wall. His age, injury history, and subpar play could see him pushed out of the Maple Leafs' lineup come playoff time if he can't pull things together.
The Maple Leafs will look to continue their recent run of strong play as they gear up for a deep playoff run. However, whether or not Jarnkrok is in the lineup for the playoffs will depend entirely on his performance and his ability to shake off some of that rust and become a more effective player.
| POLL | ||
MARS 20 | 3161 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Forward In Real Jeopardy of Losing His Roster Spot Should the Maple Leafs trade away Calle Jarnkrok in the offseason? | ||
| Yes | 2558 | 80.9 % |
| No | 603 | 19.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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