Auston Matthews' Former Teammate Could Land in Toronto After Rival Steps Back
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
After a report from The Athletic shows the Vancouver Canucks have seriously cooled down on signing Jack Roslovic, it means the Maple Leafs have a chance to strike.
With the free agent speculation surrounding Jack Roslovic, there are several teams who are in the mix, with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the forefront, though they would need to add some more cap room and roster space before they do so.
That seemed like a recipe for disaster as teams had the chance to pounce, and it looked pretty hopeless for the Leafs if they wanted to bring in Auston Matthews' old running mate.
Rival Report Shifts the Market Landscape
However, a new report from Thomas Drance of The Athletic shows that one of the main contenders for Roslovic; the Vancouver Canucks, are pretty much set on not bringing him in this summer:
At this point, from what I can gather from senior club sources informed about the organization's thinking on the matter, the Canucks have cooled significantly on the prospect of adding Roslovic as an unrestricted free agent at this point.
That's a massive boost to Toronto's hopes in bringing in Roslovic, as the Canucks are looking to work the trade market; a much better pipeline for them to go down as opposed to the Maple Leafs.
Why the Leafs Could Benefit From the Opening
Look, nothing is going to happen with the team until they end up trading either one of or both Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf that much we know.
But this means that unless another team comes out of the woodwork and usurps the Maple Leafs as the frontrunners for Roslovic, it's more than likely he'll end up signing with them.
At this point if they have no buyers for Jarnkrok or Kampf right now, they need to at least sign Roslovic with their overage amount, then dump the other two. Looking at what could be done, Brad Treliving should cut his losses, work a buyout for both men and bring in Roslovic.
The team already has a logjam up front and needs space for Nick Robertson too, so something has to give eventually. It won't cost too much to take on a buyout, and the team has a wealth of salary cap next season so it's not like they have a huge cap crunch.
The main advantage Toronto holds is that Matthews and Roslovic have history, and if he's going to sign anywhere it would likely be where he feels comfortable and that means either with an old friend or an old team.
So be on the lookout for Jack Roslovic in blue and white this year because it seems almost inevitable.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 23 | 1366 ANSWERS Auston Matthews' Former Teammate Could Land in Toronto After Rival Steps Back Are the Maple Leafs the frontrunners to sign Jack Roslovic? | ||
| Yes | 715 | 52.3 % |
| No | 651 | 47.7 % |
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