Former Nashville Predators Fan Favorites and Where They Are Now
By Chad Minton
Calle Järnkrok (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Järnkrok was lost in the 2021 Expansion Draft to the Seattle Kraken, and looking back on it now, did the Nashville Predators make the right choice not protecting a player that just posted a career high in points for a season with 39?
With the rising talent of the Nashville Predators prospect pool, it’s unlikely that Järnkrok would’ve stuck around past the 2022 offseason anyway. He made $2M AAV in six years with the Predators.
However, the Predators did choose to protect four players (Luke Kunin, Tanner Jeannot, Mattias Ekholm and Philippe Myers) who are no longer on this team. If they could go back, maybe they leave Kunin or Myers unprotected and retain Järnkrok for a little longer.
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Since then, Järnkrok has moved on to the Stanley Cup contender Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s going into his second year of his four-year deal he signed in 2022, making $2.1M AAV. A pretty decent bargain for the Maple Leafs.
Järnkrok is of course on a loaded roster and is currently projected by Daily Faceoff to play on Toronto’s fourth line. He just turned 32-years-old, so it’s rather impressive that he just hit his career high in points and doesn’t seem to be on the downward trend of his career just yet.
Järnkrok was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2010 and traded to the Predators for David Legwand. He’s 16th in franchise history in goals with 94.