An insider claims that the Maple Leafs “would look” to trade these three seasoned players.
According to NHL insider Chris Johnston, the Toronto Maple Leafs would be willing to deal three players in order to free up salary room to make improvements to their club.
According to CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs are now $1.5 million over the salary cap; however, this does not include Jani Hakanpaa, whose contract has not been finalized because of injury concerns.
Johnston claims that in order to free up cap space, Toronto is amenable to dealing Timothy Liljegren, David Kampf, and Calle Jarnkrok.
If the proper trade came up, they would consider trading Kampf, Jarnkrok, or Timothy Liljegren. To be absolutely clear, I do not believe they are attempting to get rid of them at all; rather, I believe they are quite tightly wound due to the Leafs’ salary cap. The blueline actually appears different at this stage of the off-season; they have clearly made adjustments in goal. However, I believe they’ll need to think outside the box to handle any future adjustments they choose to make,” Johnston stated on The Chris Johnston Show on July 4.
“Those are the kinds of players who could be had, but there’s no reason to think anything is imminent or will occur.” They were thinking about that openly going into this offseason. They do serve a purpose, which is why those guys have the salaries they have. If they could improve by trading those players to make salary space, I believe they would,” Johnston continued.
With two seasons remaining on his contract, Jarnkrok will earn $2.1 million annually. Kampf still has two years remaining on his contract, which will pay him $2.4 million annually.
The only defenseman mentioned, Liljegren, just inked a new two-year contract for $3 million a season, but trade rumors have included him despite the new deal.
Liljegren Desired to Stay with the Maple Leafs
Liljegren has been the focus of trade speculations before to signing his contract extension. Nevertheless, he expressed his excitement to ink a multi-year contract with the Maple Leafs after signing, saying he had always wanted to play for them.
Have fun
“I feel wonderful. I’m glad we were able to make it happen since Toronto has always been my dream location. Speaking with Toronto was not too difficult, Liljegren told the press. “I think I made some significant progress last year, but my injuries caused me to kind of go off course. I was a little unlucky to lose several games because of two huge ones. However, I continued to improve offensively.
Liljegren played 55 games for the Maple Leafs in 2023–24, tallying 3 goals and 20 assists for 23 points.
The Part of Jarnkrok and Kampf in Toronto
Kampf and Jarnkrok will be bottom-six forwards for the Maple Leafs if they are not dealt.
DailyFaceoff.com projects Jarnkrok as the team’s third-line right winger. Additionally, it is anticipated that he will play on the second penalty kill and power play units. He finished 52 games with 21 points from 10 goals and 11 assists the previous season.
Kampf, on the other hand, plays center fourth for Toronto. Because he is a strong defensive forward, he is also on the first penalty kill unit. Kampf finished the previous season with the Maple Leafs with 78 games played, 8 goals, 11 assists, and 19 points.
