Calle Jarnkrok has been skating with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the forward seemed to make the next step in his recovery by joining the team during their four-game road trip.
On Tuesday, the forward was on the ice for the club's morning skate ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins.
Out all season following sports hernia surgery, Jarnkrok has seemingly been fine since the club returned to practices following the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Jarnkrok will not play against the Bruins. But how close is he to returning?
"He's very close," Berube insisted. "There's some things that have to be done with, you know *long pause* stuff."
That response generated some laughs. Berube continued:
"He's feeling excellent. And, you know, he has to see the doctor and will do that shortly here. But he's feeling great on the ice. He's really ready to play."
Berube added that he might be able to return but some things still have to be done.
The reason for Berube to be ominous is valid. Jarnkrok did have sports hernia surgery in November in New York and could make this trip part of a final follow-up before getting cleared against the Rangers on Friday. But the other thing hanging over the Maple Leafs is salary cap management.
According to PuckPedia.com, the Leafs have a little over $2.2 million in salary cap space.
They have room to activate Jarnkrok's $2.1 million in cap space and would have roughly under a million remaining in cap space at the maximum 23-player roster limit. But with the NHL trade deadline just 10 days away, what if the Leafs want to make a move to utilize the LTI space from Jarnkrok's number? Other injuries can happen between now and then where unlocking the space for Jarnkrok's cap hit is a bit easier.
There's also the fact that there is no 23-man roster limit after the trade deadline, which adds further flexibility.
Either way, Jarnkrok's return could help the team down the stretch. Winners of six out of their last seven games, there is certainly no rush.
"Very intelligent player, as you guys know. Checks a lot of boxes, you know, penalty killing and end of games, face-offs. Like he can play any position. He's a real complimentary player with good players, which is nice to have, too," Berube said.