🖊 We signed forward Calle Järnkrok to a four-year contract. #LeafsForever — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 15, 2022 A Swede, the soon-to-be 31-year-old Järnkrok played in 574 regular-season NHL games over nine seasons between Nashville, Seattle and Calgary, posting 106 goals and 135 career assists. He is known more as a versatile player who can play in the middle or on the wing while providing solid defensive value. Calle Jarnkrok, a $4×2.1M signing from TOR, is a versatile third-line defensive forward who can score and draw penalties, but otherwise has a very limited offensive skill set. He takes very few penalties. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/g211V2NigK — JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 15, 2022 Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Järnkrok isn’t a huge offensive driver, but he has shown the ability to finish chances, scoring 15 or more goals four times in his career. He combines good speed with a quality release to be an effective secondary scoring option that can fill a variety of roles up and down the lineup. While his biggest contributions will be on the defensive side of the puck, Järnkrok should add a little more scoring touch to the card group below the forward six. So how are you doing, Calle Jarnkrok⁉️ pic.twitter.com/dr7pgkVgFA — NHL (@NHL) November 22, 2021 At first glance, Järnkrok looks well-suited to replace some of what Ondřej Kaše provided the club last season, playing alongside David Kämpf and getting tough minutes against other teams’ best players. Järnkrok doesn’t have the same injury history as Kaše and as such, provides a little more certainty for the Leafs as they continue to build their lineup. With a four-year term, Järnkrok is locked in longer than any player on the Leafs roster except for Morgan Rielly, whose eight-year extension begins next season. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below Alex Kerfoot has just one year left on his current contract, and should the club decide to shop him in an attempt to clear additional salary cap space, the Leafs now have a suitable replacement on the roster moving forward. Järnkrok’s $2.1 million cap hit is more affordable for a player in that role than Kerfoot’s $3.5 million, and the Leafs may look to recoup their assets rather than let Kerfoot walk as an unrestricted free agent the next summer. Additionally, signing Järnkrok gives the club some insurance in case they can’t strike a deal with restricted free agent Pierre Engvall. With Järnkrok now in the bullpen and assuming Nick Robertson and Wayne Simmonds are on the opening night roster, the Leafs currently have about $2.2 million in cap space left to sign both Engvall and Rasmus Sandin, which would give them a 21-man roster. That number might not be enough to sign either, let alone both, so it looks like additional moves are coming at some point. Stay tuned. (Statistics from EliteProspects.com) More from TheLeafsNation.com Advertisement – Continue Reading Below