With consistent playing time being hard to come by for Maple Leafs winger Calle Jarnkrok this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him consider other options in July when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Earlier today, a report from Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson suggested that the veteran was likely to return to the SHL next season and sign with Brynas. However, his agent, Newport’s Filip Andreason, announced (Twitter link) that there have been no discussions with any team in any league for the 2026-27 campaign. Jarnkrok has been limited to just 19 games with Toronto so far this season and has only four points, all goals. He carries a $2.1MM cap charge which has hindered their efforts to try to find him a fresh start elsewhere. He’ll get that fresh start in the summer but his plans for next season remain unsettled.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Canucks center Elias Pettersson skated on his own before practice today but didn’t take part in team drills and is unlikely to return from his upper-body injury on Thursday against Buffalo, notes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. However, he is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming five-game road trip with an eye on returning at some point on that trip. The 27-year-old has been a bit more productive relative to last season but is still underachieving offensively with six goals and 14 assists through 28 games which is still good for a share of the team lead in scoring. He joins Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger as injured centers, putting Vancouver in a tough spot when it comes to filling out their lineup.
- Capitals defenseman John Carlson has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury sustained last Tuesday. However, it appears that the games missed count won’t go any higher. Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relays that the veteran was a full participant at practice today on the top pairing which suggests he could be cleared to suit up Thursday against Carolina. In his 17th season, all in Washington, Carlson has been quite productive so far in 2025-26, tallying six goals and 17 assists in 26 games while averaging nearly 23 minutes per game of playing time.