Toronto Maple Leafs
Calle Järnkrok Returns Home to Sweden After 13 NHL Seasons
Calle Jarnkrok is heading home. The 34-year-old center has signed a three-year contract with Brynäs IF of the SHL.
Calle Järnkrok is heading home. The 34-year-old center has signed a three-year contract with Brynäs IF of the SHL, returning to his hometown club in Gävle after 13 seasons in North America. The deal runs through the 2028-29 season.
During his last run in the SHL, Järnkrok helped Brynäs win Sweden’s junior title with four playoff goals, then split 2009-10 between junior and senior clubs, finishing second in J20 league scoring (1.63 points/game). As a rookie, he led all first-year SHL players in goals (11) and points (27), earning a Rookie of the Year finalist nod. In 2011-12, he posted 39 points in 50 games and helped Brynäs win the SHL championship, adding 16 points in 16 playoff games with a plus-12 rating, second-best among all skaters.
His SHL performances led Detroit to draft him 51st overall in 2010. Järnkrok’s NHL career took him through Nashville, Seattle, Calgary, and most recently Toronto. He was in the final year of a four-year, $2.1MM AAV this past season and the Maple Leafs elected not to re-sign him.
Jarnkrok’s career in Toronto started out strong. It included a 20-goal debut. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his run there. He missed more than 120 games as a Maple Leaf, including time lost to a sports hernia that required surgery. Last season, he managed just six goals and eight points in 56 games, along with a minus-15 rating — a rough finish for a player long known for his defensive reliability.
Now, Järnkrok closes the North American chapter of his career and heads back to where it all started, ready for a new role with Brynäs. If he never returns to the NHL, he will have played 774 total NHL games, tallying 316 points.
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