Toronto Maple Leafs: Kasperi Kapanen’s Future with the Team
By Alex Hobson
The Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t always known for their young talent.
Just four years ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs had one of the worst prospect pools in the league. They hoped that rookies (now-busts) such as Tyler Biggs and Stuart Percy would turn out to be bonafide NHLers. On top of this, the Leafs had a failing core of Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, and James Reimer that they weren’t aware would plummet. All in all, it was a dark time for the Buds.
Fast forward a few years, and there they were in 2016. The Leafs were entering the 2016-17 NHL season with a trio of young talent in William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews.
As of now, those three rookies are deemed untouchable.
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When you’re thinking of prospects and rookies, those three certainly come to mind. Another player that you could add to this list is Kasperi Kapanen, the centerpiece in the Phil Kessel deal.
The 20-year-old native of Kuopio, Finland, and son of former NHLer Sami Kapanen was the 22nd overall pick in 2014. The Penguins selected him and dealt him to Toronto the next year, and he’s been lighting up the minors since.
He appeared in eight NHL games with the Leafs towards the end of the season last year and while he only scored one goal, it proved to be a big one. He would bury a nifty pass from Matt Hunwick to tie the game at three against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Leafs would go on to win, clinching them a spot in the 2017 NHL Playoffs.
Anyways, before his debut there was a question about what the Leafs should do with Kapanen and whether it would make more sense to trade him in a package for a defenseman, or let him grow and remain a Leaf. I’m here to present both possibilities.
Option A: Trade Him for a Defenseman
Let’s face it. The Leafs have forwards to burn on the offensive front of prospects. Along with the big three, they have Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk, and more talent in the minors such as Kerby Rychel, Andreas Johnsson, and Jeremy Bracco.
While Kapanen would be a joy to watch for the Leafs in the long run, if the Finn garners enough interest from teams with defensemen to burn, he could certainly be part of a haul to get a d-man.
Obviously, we don’t know who’s going to be available or whether or not they’ll even want Kapanen, but he’s there and it’s still an option if the Leafs want to make a move.
Option B: Keep Him, Let Him Develop
I mentioned earlier that the Leafs have forwards to burn, but in all honesty, the Leafs aren’t hurting on the back end as much as people might think.
They have three established top four defensemen in Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner, and Nikita Zaitsev. They have talent in the system such as Travis Dermott and Andrew Nielsen, and there’s also the Swedes they signed in Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman.
Oh yeah, and they drafted Timothy Liljegren in the 2017 draft. Liljegren.
Just because the Leafs don’t have a big name d-man like a Kevin Shattenkirk or a Sami Vatanen on the back end, doesn’t mean their d-core isn’t good enough.
Kapanen has also demonstrated a really nice quirk to his game, and that’s his ability to step up and score big goals. You saw at the 2016 World Juniors, in the clinching game, as well as game two and game three. He knows how to get it done and he’s looking like a valuable asset solely for that purpose.
My Take
In the end, I think it would be smart for the Leafs to keep Kapanen rather than deal him. If the Leafs are going to make a move for a defenseman, it’ll likely be James van Riemsdyk (Andrew Boehmer briefly touches on this topic here) or Tyler Bozak on their way out over the young Finn.
And honestly, Kapanen’s clutch game style and his ability to show up when the team needs him the most is enough for me to want him around. I honestly wouldn’t even complain if he was only a 30 point guy every year. If he scores goals when it matters, it’s worth keeping him for.