Calle Jarnkrok reveals one rumor became so big Brad Treliving called him in

Calle Järnkrok admitted that rumours of him leaving Toronto got so big that former GM Brad Treliving personally had to ask him if it was true.

Järnkrok, 34, recently signed a three-year deal to return to his native Sweden; signing with Brynas IF and likely finishing his professional hockey career overseas. He is coming off two rough seasons in Toronto and never found his footing after a solid debut season.

However, his return to Sweden was reported months ago though that seemed to be more hearsay than anything as the move was reported - but nothing was official. Järnkrok said nothing, the Maple Leafs kept silent and things moved on as usual.

Järnkrok woke up to 100 texts before Treliving asked if he was leaving Toronto

But that doesn't mean Järnkrok was immune to the rumours and he actually ended up being bombarded with questions - essentially being interrogated about his future.

Järnkrok admitted that he encountered hundreds of texts and messages from friends, colleagues and family about his reported move back to Sweden. It certainly caught him off guard, and it got so bad in fact that former Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving personally had a conversation with him to clear the air:

I had to have a meeting with the general manager (Brad Treliving), who had heard that I was going to leave. He brought me in and asked if I was moving back home. After that, everything was fine.

But when I woke up, I'd received something like 100 text messages, and then I realized something had happened. I thought, ‘What the hell is going on now?' But it was probably just a rumor. It wasn't true at the time.

It's never good when a report gets so out of hand that the GM of the team needs to have a one-on-one meeting with a player, but with how quickly word spreads in Toronto - it was almost inevitable. At least Järnkrok seemed to hold no ill will towards the speculation as he was more just surprised than anything.

The rumour was wrong at the time, but it eventually landed on Järnkrok's exact destination

The report had Järnkrok 'verbally agreeing' to a contract with Brynas - which ended up being the team he signed with. What makes the story unusual is that the original report was wrong at the time, yet it eventually landed on the exact destination Järnkrok chose months later.

Just saying he was heading to Sweden is one thing, but nailing the exact team and reporting a verbal agreement shows that Järnkrok had some reservations about this season - but wanted to see it through. If Toronto somehow picked it up and made the playoffs, then perhaps Järnkrok would second-guess moving back home.

But with a failed season and no spot in the lineup, it was time for him to move on. Both Toronto and Järnkrok are better off going their separate ways.

Toronto once had to ask Järnkrok whether a Brynäs rumor was true. At the time, it wasn't. But by the end of the summer, it had become his reality as both he and the Maple Leafs decided it was best to part ways.

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