Maple Leafs may trade $2.1 million forward as 'under-the-radar' move

The Toronto Maple Leafs are nowhere near where they planned on being.

After their loss on Thursday night, they fell to the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. And with the trade deadline approaching, that could mean a different approach.

The Maple Leafs are usually buyers this time of year. But this time around, they could be sellers.

Lots of names have been thrown out, but one is flying "under the radar," according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston and Harman Dayal.

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They believe Calle Jarnkrok is a prime trade candidate.

"Järnkrok is an undersized forward who doesn’t play with any physicality — not exactly traits generally prized by Berube," The Athletic's duo writes. "Age and health-related decline may also be catching up to him. However, his biggest attribute has always been his ability to read the ice and consistently make good decisions with the puck. Järnkrok owes his 13 NHL seasons as much to his brain as his body."

Essentially, a playoff contender would be betting on Jarnkrok putting himself in the right spots often enough to prove useful.

He wouldn't cost much.

"Trading for him now would be a low-stakes roll of the dice because of the negligible cost in both assets and financial commitment," The Athletic writes. "While Järnkrok’s contract carries a $2.1 million cap hit, he’s only taking home the league-minimum $775,000 in actual salary in the final year as a pending UFA. He only needs to provide replacement-value to justify the gambit."

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It's not a sure thing by any means.

There's no reason for the Maple Leafs to keep him, though, and if they can get any tiny value in return for Jarnkrok at all, it's a trade move worth considering.

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