Toronto Maple Leafs Reportedly Close to Signing Swedish Defenceman Calle Rosen

According to a report from the Swedish publication the Expressen, the Toronto Maple Leafs are closing in on a deal with defenceman Calle Rosen.

It’s no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs need to improve their defence this offseason. The problem, however, is, based on everything we’ve heard during this past season, the asking price to acquire an NHL defenceman is extremely high.

The Leafs could eventually go down that road and pay up to acquire a defenceman, but another alternative is to sign a player from overseas, and that’s exactly what the Leafs are reportedly on the verge of doing.

According to Swedish writer Johan Svensson of the Expressen, Swedish defenceman Calle Rosen will sign with the Maple Leafs. The signing will not take place until he is done playing for the Swedish national team, at the earliest, according to Svensson.

Here’s what Svensson had to say in his post, via Google translator:

"Growing back Calle Rosén has been club for long in NHL. There has been talk about both Chicago and Toronto.According to MrMadhawk.se, it is a contract with Toronto Maple Leafs for Rosén.Right now he is playing the “Carlson Hockey Games” with Three Crowns. But a World Cup is probably difficult, considering all regular NHL players coming.However, Rosén will be an NHL player this fall.No one has really counted on Rosén in Växjötruppen. Most important sports director Henrik Evertsson, who said openly that he lost Rosén to NHL.The 23-year-old is untrained, which means he can sign any NHL team. That’s the case, when he decided for Toronto. However, nothing will be official until Rosén has played the national team at the earliest."

I’m sure the Google translation isn’t completely accurate based on how broken some of the sentences read, but I think you understand the majority of it, which is Svensson saying Rosen will eventually sign with the Leafs. Again, nothing is official yet, but for what it’s worth, Svensson was also the one who told us Jhonas Enroth would sign with the Maple Leafs, and that eventually came to fruition.

The Athletic also reported both the Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks were pursuing Rosen earlier this week.

As for what kind of player Rosen is, the 23-year-old Swede plays for the Växjös Lakers in the SHL where he racked up 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 41 games. The left-shooting defenceman is six feet tall and weighs 176 pounds. According to Uffe Bodin of Hockey Svierge.se, Rosen is a mobile skater who plays with skill, which sounds ideal for the Leafs system.

Rosen might not fill the team’s need for a right-handed defenceman, but he does add depth, which is something the Leafs could really use in their system. Realistically, Rosen will play the Toronto Marlies next season, get acclimated to the North American game, and compete with players like Rinat Valiev, Travis Dermott and Andrew Neilsen for a future bottom pairing spot with the Leafs.

Next: Maple Leafs Impressive Season a Precursor to Future Success

One final note with Rosen is that if he does not make Team Sweden for the World Championships, he could sign with the Leafs sooner, but if he makes the team it could take a while for this signing to become official.