The Toronto Maple Leafs and Jack Roslovic have come to terms on a two-year deal worth $4 million per season.
This connection has been rumoured for over a year, as Roslovic played with Auston Matthews for the USNTDP program, where they were linemates and finished one-two on the team in scoring. That roster also included Matthew Tkachuk, Clayton Keller, and Tage Thompson, among others. That was over 10 years ago now, and at 29, Roslovic has established his place in the league.
He has scored 20-plus goals in three of the past five seasons, including each of the last two. He’s a good skater who will inject some speed into the lineup while also giving the Leafs another right-shot forward. William Nylander was the Leafs‘ only right-shot forward, and now Roslovic gives them another option in their top nine, so they aren’t forced to shift a number of left-shot forwards to the opposite wing. Roslovic has also played some center at times, winning over 53 percent of his faceoffs in each of the past two seasons, but he’s naturally better suited to the wing at this stage of his career, where he can use his speed and focus on offense.
Roslovic is capable of going on extended heaters. For example, last season he recorded 16 points in 16 games from late October through November. A year earlier with Carolina, he was tied with Martin Ne?as for the team lead in goals from the start of the season through Christmas.
Last season, the Leafs had just four players score more than 20 goals (Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, and Knies; McMann likely would have as well had he not been traded). In that sense, Roslovic adds a much-needed shooter who can put the puck in the net and provide legitimate secondary scoring.
Roslovic is not a great defensive player, which has limited his ability to move up the lineup at times and to play center full-time—similar to Max Domi. In fact, Roslovic has never posted a positive goal differential at five-on-five during his NHL career, although he has broken even three separate times. While much will be made of the Matthews-Roslovic connection, he obviously can’t play with Matthews for long if they can’t win their minutes—again, similar to Domi.
Instead, it’s probably safer to view him as a middle-six scorer who can move up the lineup at times to provide a different look or a spark.
In terms of value, it’s a fair contract with little risk on a two-year term. He’s a prime-aged player at 29 and has been a steady producer for years. The $4 million annual cap hit is reasonable if he continues to be a 20-goal scorer. The Leafs have talented centers to play with him, and he brings legitimate skill.
It will be interesting to see if the Leafs add another full-time center; otherwise, Roslovic may not have much choice but to play 3C. If that happens, both of the Leafs’ middle-six centers—Tavares and Roslovic—would be players you’d rather shelter defensively, making the lineup a little trickier to configure.
Provided the Leafs can find another center, Roslovic gives them another right-shot forward with speed, skill, and lineup versatility at a fair price. His familiarity with Matthews and his proven track record of secondary scoring only add to the appeal. The defensive warts, however, will always be there, which could make certain lineup configurations more difficult.
