Last month, the Flames made an important addition on the wing with the acquisition of Tyler Toffoli from Montreal. They’ve now added another winger as they have acquired winger Calle Jarnkrok from Seattle. In exchange, the Kraken receive Florida’s second-round pick in 2022, Calgary’s third-rounder in 2023, and a 2024 seventh-round selection.
The 30-year-old was the Kraken’s selection from Nashville in expansion and he has been his usual dependable two-way self this season. He has played in 49 games for Seattle this season, picking up 12 goals and 14 assists while logging just shy of 17 minutes per game. He has seen regular action on both the penalty kill and power play this season, giving him some versatility in terms of where head coach Darryl Sutter will be able to deploy him.
It’s notable that Jarnkrok has played at center in the past although he has predominantly been on the wing the last three seasons. It’s possible that Calgary could opt to deploy him there in which case he’d likely be upgrading their fourth line as it’s unlikely he’d displace Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, or Sean Monahan from their current roles.
Jarnkrok is in the final season of a six-year, $12MM contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in July. The Flames didn’t currently have enough cap space to absorb his $2MM AAV – they have just $769K in space at the moment per CapFriendly – but Seattle hadn’t used any of their three retention slots before this deal. That, coupled with Adam Ruzicka being waiver-exempt and eligible to be sent back to AHL Stockton, gives them enough cap room to make this work.
In the meantime, Seattle gets a very strong return for a rental player in Jarnkrok. With the second-rounder this year, they now have nine selections for the 2022 draft in July while the 2023 third-rounder gives them ten picks for that draft. They’re likely to look to stockpile more over the coming days with veteran blueliner Mark Giordano expected to be among those on the move by then.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report Jarnkrok was going to Calgary. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the draft picks going to Seattle.
i get Florida’s 2nd will be a late round pick but a 2nd and a 3rd seems a bit steep for a 3rd liner but man this calgary team looks dangerous
I am a preds fan and have always loved Calle but this seems a steep price for him. Hope he thrives in Calgery
Flames going all in this season. Gotta like that!
A lot of these deals have been going for eyepopping prices: that’s what the market’s about. (Granted, I’m bewildered that Florida couldn’t get more than a 4th for Vatrano.)
It’s sorta why anyone who can sell should be selling. If playoff-bound teams are overpaying, take advantage.