Former NHLer Calle Jarnkrok signs three-year contract in Sweden

A veteran depth player is heading overseas.

On Monday, Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League announced that the club has signed forward Calle Jarnkrok to a three-year contract, which will carry through the 2028-29 season.

Jarnkrok returns home to Sweden after spending the past 13 seasons in the NHL. He’s been part of the Toronto Maple Leafs since joining the Original Six franchise as a free agent in July 2022. While he was never considered a “top guy” on a team that featured the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, Jarnkrok proved he could be a solid asset further down the lineup. In his first season with the team, the Gavle native posted a career-high 20 goals and 39 points. He followed that up with another 21 points in 2023-24, despite appearing in just 52 games.

What hurt Jarnkrok over the past couple of years was his inability to stay healthy, as well as his standing with head coach Craig Berube. He was limited to just 19 games in 2024-25, before injuries and healthy scratches led to him scoring just six goals and eight points in 56 appearances this past season.

The 34-year-old came to the end of his four-year contract, signed in 2022, which carried a cap hit of $2.1 million.

In 774 NHL games, which included stops with the Nashville Predators, Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames, the former Detroit Red Wings prospect posted 143 goals and 173 assists for 316 points, with another 23 points in 105 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

This won’t be the first time Jarnkrok will play for his hometown team. Before coming to North America in 2013, he played parts of four seasons with Brynäs, after spending several years climbing up the organization’s junior ranks. In 185 games with the SHL squad, he notched 44 goals and 118 points, with another 21 points in 28 postseason affairs.