Maple Leafs Could Have Solution To Their Problem With Sharks

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been reportedly trying to move one or both of Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf. It would open up the necessary cap space to make an addition like Jack Roslovic, who would be more useful to this lineup, or to make a deal a bit later for someone else. Jarnkrok has been injured too much and Kampf might not be an everyday player with the depth the Maple Leafs have now.

Toronto hasn't had much luck trading either one of them as evidence shows they are both still with the Maple Leafs. While injuries to players around the league would make things a bit easier for Toronto to send one of these players off, that hasn't happened because training camps haven't even opened. There are teams with cap room though and I don't think it should cost the Maple Leafs any picks to send Jarnkrok or Kampf elsewhere. They are both useful enough and aren't a huge burden cap-wise.

The San Jose Sharks could be that team to help the Maple Leafs out and help themselves out at the same time. The team picked up Barclay Goodrow last year off of waivers to help the New York Rangers out and give themselves another forward, but with the horrible depth and forward group assembled this season, more of that type of thinking has to be done.

The Sharks are in a different conference and in a different stage than the Maple Leafs, so any worry about helping a team out shouldn't be bothered with. Jarnkrok or Kampf's cap hit would help a little towards easily staying over the salary cap floor, even after making expected trades later in the season.

Trading one of them for anything from future considerations to the Maple Leafs needing to attach a sixth or seventh round pick would do the trick. It would help Toronto out in the end as the likelihood of hitting on a late pick like that is very low. The eight forwards expected to be in the bottom-6 for San Jose include Jeff Skinner, Goodrow, Philipp Kurashev, Colin Graf, Ryan Reaves, Carl Grundstrom, Ty Dellandrea, and Zack Ostapchuk. They all combined for 38 goals (16 from Skinner) and 85 goals. It is a bottom-6 where half of them, at least, would be in the AHL on the majority of the rest of the teams in the NHL.

The Maple Leafs should be able to trade Karnkrok or Kampf by the trade deadline as the team will be looking to free up more space and make the roster better for a deep playoff run.