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Ex-Maple Leafs Winger Criticizes Brad Treliving's Big Contract Signing, Raises Trade Value Concerns
Former NHL forward and ex-Maple Leafs player Jay Rosehill criticized GM Brad Treliving's big contract signings, saying it will be hard to trade those players.
Former Toronto Maple Leaf player Jay Rosehill had some thoughts on trade candidates for the team, and he indicated that Calle Jarnkrok would be more of an asset in a trade than David Kampf would be at the moment.
Both forwards are currently signed, with Calle Jarnkrok for one season at $2.1 million and David Kampf for two seasons at $2.4 million annually.
Why Salary Concerns Limit Trade Options for the Maple Leafs
Jay Rosehill cited Kampf's reliability as a defensive center but also questioned his scoring impact on a playoff team. Things took a turn when Rosehill spoke of Kampf's four-year, $9.6 million deal being too much for his role.
Jarnkrok, 33, is a two-way player capable of slotting into a top-six role at any time. He played in just 19 games last year due to a lower-body injury, and only managed to contribute one goal and six assists.
Over the last three years, he has scored a total of 31 goals and 36 assists in 144 games, with a 20-goal season coming in 2023-24.
In comparison, Kampf has 39 assists and 20 goals in 219 games during the same span of time, with never more than double-digit goals in a single season, hence the reason why Rosehill feels he was signed for too much by GM Brad Treliving.
"I was never like super high on Kampf," Rosehill said on Sunday, via "Leafs Morning Take." "He just seemed really quiet, which okay, you could say that's good. He's good in the D zone and good on faceoffs and this and that. It's like fine, but like if we're talking about a team that wants to make a run, who's right there. I think I need a little bit more."
"He's got a pretty hefty contract, too," Rosehill said. "One of those things I was kind of surprised Treliving signed him to with his AAV, and he doesn't really move the needle for me."
"He's got a pretty hefty contract, too," Rosehill said. "One of those things I was kind of surprised Treliving signed him to with his AAV, and he doesn't really move the needle for me."
Jay Rosehill Sees Jarnkrok as a More Valuable Trade Asset Than Kampf
"Jarnkrok I've always liked but when you're getting up there in age and it's hard to be dynamic and the league's getting as good as it is, it's kind of hard to invoke your will on the game as well."
- Jay Rosehill
- Jay Rosehill
During last season, Kampf accumulated eight assists and just five goals in 59 games.
NHL insider Chris Johnston revealed that Nicholas Robertson, Kampf, and Jarnkrok are definitely trade candidates, but the Leafs are not willing to trade Robertson at the moment due to his young age and goal-scoring ability, even though he hasn't fully broken out yet in the NHL.
Toronto has just $1.9 million of cap space available to revisit trade talks, and they will need to shed salary if they want to secure their bottom-six.
According to Johnston, the team has been trying for weeks to trade away Jarnkrok and Kampf without success, which likely goes back to Rosehill's theory of players being signed for too much.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 11 | 26 ANSWERS Ex-Maple Leafs Winger Criticizes Brad Treliving's Big Contract Signing, Raises Trade Value Concerns Has GM Brad Treliving signed some players for too high a salary? | ||
| Yes | 21 | 80.8 % |
| No | 5 | 19.2 % |
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