The Ottawa Senators signed Norwegian forward Eskild Bakke-Olsen on Monday as he looks to make the leap and the Maple Leafs are left without a shot.
Bakke-Olsen, 24, is a player who has plied his trade over in Sweden the past couple of seasons, and most recently was part of Team Norway, the one that upset Team Canada at this year's IIHF World Championships. We touched on his fit as a Maple Leaf but it seems like he's headed for a rival team instead.
Bakke-Olsen is a two-way forward who is someone who adds both the defensive skillset of a bottom-six forward with the offensive upside of someone who can give you 10-15 goals. He's a tireless worker, loves to play hard and earned a look from some NHL team this season - and we have our winner.
Ottawa signs under appreciated two-way forward Bakke-Olsen as Maple Leafs miss out
The Ottawa Senators have reportedly reached a deal with Bakke-Olsen as they brought him aboard for a one-year deal for the 2026-27 season:
-
Bakke-Olsen had 32 points in 51 games while playing in Sweden this season, meanwhile he added five points playing for Norway.
We touched on Bakke-Olsen as a player who the Maple Leafs should have made a play for considering his connection with Tinus Luc Koblar; Toronto's promising young prospect who happens to also be Norwegian.
It isn't yet known where he will fit into the Senators lineup, but there is a chance that this is mainly used as an audition this season to see where he may look in the lineup going forward and at only 24 years old, they have a few years to figure it out (unless he heads back overseas).
Maple Leafs miss out on the perfect bottom-six addition to the lineup
But for the Maple Leafs it's a tough pill to swallow considering that they could have had a pretty solid one-two punch with Bakke-Olsen and Koblar, as they could have played together and had some chemistry to ease both of their transitions.
He also would've been a great replacement for Calle Jarnkrok, as he's not only less expensive but also a decade younger and has the versatility to be put into a ton of different spots be in power-play, penalty kill, tight games - he thrives under pressure.
It's unfortunate but it seems the team has a lot more things to focus on considering the NHL Draft is less than two weeks away, and they also have to figure out what they're doing with certain players like Morgan Rielly, Nick Robertson, and Anthony Stolarz.
We'll have to see whether or not missing out on Bakke-Olsen is going to hurt the Maple Leafs or not, but it at least adds a new dimension to the Battle of Ontario as we may see a couple Norwegian friends face off as heated rivals in a couple of years.
Should the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Eskild Bakke-Olsen?
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Maple Leafs sign Tinus Luc Koblar to a three-year entry-level contract