Toronto Maple Leafs Send Kapanen Down (Again)

The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent Kapanen back to the AHL.

The announcement comes courtesy of the Toronto Maple Leafs PR department.

Kasperi Kapanen has played in six games this season and scored twice, and posted a 50.56% Corsi-For rating.  He has mostly been relegated to playing on the third and fourth line, when there are injuries.  With Matthews back from a concussion and Connor Brown suiting up on the fourth line, there is nowhere for Kapanen to play.

I feel kind of bad for Kapanen because he is clearly an NHL player, but his waiver eligibility and the fact that the Leafs are so deep on right-wing (Nylander, Marner, Brown, Komarov) means there is no place for him to play, despite being perhaps the fastest player on the team.

A Place or Kapanen

The Leafs are being patient, but their clear need for a defenseman will eventually win out over their need to have several quality NHL players in the press-box or minors every game.

Kapanen may be one of the casualties of the upcoming trade the Leafs are sure to make, or he’ll be able to then slide into a spot in the lineup.  Personally, I think his speed and potential make him a player the Toronto Maple Leafs should hold on to.

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If they do keep him, one place where he might make a good fit is with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov.  I had thought that Kapanen had played almost all his minutes on the fourth line, until I looked it up.

It turns out that he’s split about 60/40 between the fourth and the third line-  31:00 minutes beside Dominic Moore,  and 21:00 with Nazem Kadri.

When Kapanen has lined up with Kadri, the WOWY (with you, without you) charts are pretty crazy.

Without Kadri, Kapanen is a 46.48% player overall.

Without Kapanen, Kadri is a 40.83% player overall.

Yes, it’s a small 20 minute sample size.  It is, however, worth looking into. Kapanen is incredibly fast and it’s likely that his defensive awareness helps what is essentially the Leafs “shut-down” line.  As an offensively capable player, it’s also helpful for him to be on the ice with another offense player like Kadri.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs finally get their over-stocked roster figured out, and when Kasperi Kapanen is firmly established as a regular who will no longer be sent to the AHL, I’d like to see him on a line regularly with Kadri and see if the chemistry that has been teased in a small sample size can exist long-term.

Next: What do the Toronto Maple Leafs need for Christmas

Stats from Naturalstattrick.com

Thanks for reading, Happy Holidays.