Edmonton Oilers emerge as likely trade partner for the Toronto Maple Leafs after Evander Kane injury

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Chris Gerics
September 22, 2024 (3:56 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs could be of a big assistance to the Edmonton Oilers by giving them a replacement for Evander Kane, and also help themselves in the future.

With news that Evander Kane would miss several months after surgery, Edmonton suddenly finds themselves one key player down, and with the season starting soon, options are starting to dwindle as October approaches. The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves with a logjam in their forward corps; the additions of Max Pacioretty, Steven Lorentz, Alexander Nylander, re-signing Nick Robertson, and the emergence of Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten leaves a lot of Maple Leaf mainstays on the outside looking in; with several names who could find themselves on the trade block sooner than later.

Names like David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok, and Pontus Holmberg all stand out as players who could find themselves on the chopping block, and would be giving Toronto a massive hand by shedding the salary they no longer need, in order to save some cap room and perhaps hold some money for an emergency signing.

Kampf on one hand, he's making $2.4M for the next three seasons and although he's been a solid 4th line forward, he doesn't really have a spot in the near future, and Toronto can dump his cap off. Kane has more production than Kampf but Kampf also provides solid defensive and faceoff metrics, something Edmonton could use for a deep playoff run; depth matters. He's put together his best offensive seasons in Toronto and had a career high 11 goals in 2021-2022; he's also stable, as for the last three seasons with the Maple Leafs he's only missed four games total, and Edmonton can use all the stability they can get.

Jarnkrok would also fit the role Kane plays in Edmonton albeit a little bit smaller. He's a power forward who has a scoring touch, as evident by the 20 goals he scored in 2022-2023, and also had a stretch of six seasons with Nashville where he averaged 14 goals while also providing nearly 50% of his faceoff wins; proving that he can slide in where Kane can't. Jarnkrok is a natural center, but has often found himself shifted to the wing in Toronto and could find himself working double duty if Edmonton were to scoop him up. He also makes $2.1M per year and he would be a great salary dump in order to sign Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz; both men won't come near the $2.1M Jarnkrok is owed.

Finally, the one youngster in this equation is Pontus Holmberg; someone with only two years NHL experience but who would fit swimmingly into the Oilers lineup. He's only 25, and while he's done a fine job in Toronto, he could use a change of scenery and be able to break out, as it looks like he may not get the chance with Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten behind him chomping at the bit. He doesn't come at a huge cap cost, so if Toronto wanted to clear up some cap space they would need to attach a Conor Timmins or Timothy Liljegren to the equation if it's a sole cap dump, but he could definitely find chemistry with fellow Maple Leaf, Connor Brown or long-time veteran Corey Perry. He's worth $800K, but coupled with Timmins would bring Toronto to nearly that $2M wiggle room number.

Personally, the Maple Leafs should look to get rid of Kampf if anything; while I can appreciate the hard work he's put in for the team, his salary doesn't equate to the production he's given. Toronto could use nearly $2.5M in cap space to sign their PTO's, or perhaps find themselves needing to have a bit of extra room to keep their Core Four by re-signing Mitch Marner which could be monumental come the future. With Fraser Minten already able to find himself on the NHL roster last season, and seems poised to have a spot this season (after his return from injury), the Maple Leafs would be doing themselves and the Oilers a favor.

With the season just around the corner, and with teams finally starting to shape up before October, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers find themselves at a bit of a crossroads: Toronto needs some extra money and Edmonton needs healthy bodies on the ice. If these two can come together, it may not be the last time we see Edmonton this season; more specifically in June.