Mark My Words, the Toronto Maple Leafs Will Trade Kasperi Kapanen

The Toronto Maple Leafs will trade Kasperi Kapanen.

And no, it’s not because he’s had a rough start to the season on the Toronto Maple Leafs first line.

And it’s not because he is threw his stick and cost the team a game.  They didn’t deserve to win that game, and that one move isn’t indicative of anything.

Kapanen is playing left-wing, which is a new position for him.  He’ll be fine.  He’s one of the fastest skaters in the NHL and he’s got excellent penalty killing abilities, and has some value for his defense.

But he’ll still get traded.

Trading Kasperi Kapanen

The reason the Toronto Maple Leafs will trade Kasperi Kapanen is that they don’t need him, and he’ll bring back a good return.

Kapanen makes $3.2 million dollars.

If he improves and becomes a legitimate top-six forward, this is good value.  But he might not, in which case it will be an overpayment.

The point, however, is moot.

Zach Hyman brings more to the team than Kasperi Kapanen does, and he’s cheaper.

Whether or not the Leafs use Kapanen to upgrade their defense depends on Cody Ceci.

Ceci has been adequate, but he makes too much money and has no business in any team’s top-four, let alone one with Stanley Cup aspirations.

If Ceci can be moved, then the Leafs will use Kapanen to get a defenseman.

If Ceci is sticking around for the full year, then Kapanen will be traded for picks and cap relief.

I like Kapanen, a lot.  So don’t take this the wrong way, but he’s a luxury on a team that is capped out.  When Hyman returns, the Leafs won’t need him in the top six.  But with Ilya Mikheyev and Trevor Moore, they don’t need him on the third line either.

Logically, he’ll be traded.

If it appeared in anyway that Kapanen was capable of filling in for Hyman, this might be a different story.  But Hyman is better, and Hyman is cheaper.  Kapanen’s speed and contract will make him easily movable.

The fact that Trevor Moore and Ilya Mikheyev are so good eliminates the need for Kapanen, so he either gets traded for cap relief or a defenseman.

I’d bet on a defenseman.

Kapanen and a first rounder is way more than the Leafs paid to acquire Jake Muzzin, so I’m confident that they could use Kapanen in some way to get a real partner for Morgan Rielly.

If someone takes Ceci, then Hyman and Dermott fit back in the lineup no problems.  Then the Leafs pick up a half-decent defenseman for Kapanen and picks/prospects, and the team is better, and we’ll no longer be subject to detailed accounts of why the Leafs need to pick player A over player B in order to save 75 dollars.

Kapanen gets traded this year, book it.  He is the clubs most obvious piece they can use to improve their defense.