The Toronto Maple Leafs need to make changes to their roster and Kasperi Kapanen could be the ideal player to offer up in a trade.
After the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to make it past the Columbus Blue Jackets in the qualifying round, a number of questions have been raised about what the team should do to improve.
It’s clear to all that this team can’t continue to operate with such little cap room, currently sitting a shade over $4.5 million, with so many restricted free agents to make decisions on, including Ilya Mikheyev and Travis Dermott.
General manager Kyle Dubas needs to make something happen to help the team move forward but he needs to find a way to alleviate some cap room in order to do so, especially if he hopes to land a right-handed defenseman to shore up the blueline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Kasperi Kapanen
Trading players currently on the roster is the most logical step, but the ‘big four’ forwards of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Mitch Marner should definitely not be in any conversations.
They are the core of what has been one of the more potent offences in the NHL over the past couple of years, with the Toronto Maple Leafs scoring the second-most number of goals in the regular season.
Their top six should not be altered, but their bottom-six forwards most certainly should be available if the price is right.
Andreas Johnsson has been regularly rumoured to be a player potentially on the trading block, with his impressive offensive upside and the potential to be a legitimate second-line winger when he is healthy.
But it is Kasperi Kapanen that the Toronto Maple Leafs might be able to get more value back in return should they opt to part ways with the Finnish winger.
Kapanen is in an age sweet spot at 24, where he is developed and is NHL ready for any team in the league, but he could still progress further – something that teams will find intriguing as it opens up the possibility that the best is yet to come for him.
Being a former first-round pick comes with lofty expectations and, while it has taken Kapanen a bit longer to truly establish himself as an NHL player, he has already clocked in over 200 regular-season games and has shown a wide range of skills that would make him enticing for teams around the league.
Last season, while playing a lot of time on the second line, Kapanen scored 20 goals and had a career-high 44 total points in 78 games. (Stats hockeydb.com).
Having played just 38 games (two goals, seven assists) the year before, the jump up should have caught the attention of a number of teams, as he has shown what he is capable of when given a larger role on an NHL roster.
This season, Kapanen’s role was downgraded somewhat, as he predominantly played on the third line and created some chemistry with last summer’s acquisition, Alexander Kerfoot, with Leafs prospect Nick Robertson also seeming to play well when added into the equation.
The upside for Kapanen is there. He could be a regular 20-goal scorer playing on the second line while possessing some of the fastest skating ability in the league.
Add to that, he has played a lot more penalty kill minutes for the Leafs this season and having that defensive capability will make him a valuable piece to teams needing some defensive help from their forwards – especially with his penchant for stripping the puck and retaining possession, having more takeaways (98) than giveaways (78) both across his career and consistently per each of the past three seasons.
Having a player that can score 20 goals and kill penalties is a valuable commodity, but it’s something the Leafs can part ways with if it allows them more maneuverability to add to their defensive corps.
Johnsson and Kapanen both have similar contracts, which makes them both regular spoken of when considering potential Leafs trade candidates, but it is Kapanen’s that holds more value overall.
Both players started new contracts this year, with Johnsson earning $3.4 million per season until 2023 while Kapanen earns slightly less at $3.2 million per season until 2022.
While Kapanen’s cap hit is over $3 million, his actual salary, including signing bonuses, decreases in each of the next two seasons – from around $2.86 million next season to $2.34 million the following year.
This helps a team that can afford to lose a bit of cap space put pay out less in real monetary terms – something a number of teams may look for due to the financial constraints the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is already starting to place on teams.
What also makes Kapanen’s contract even more valuable to a team acquiring him, is that they would have control in negotiations when it expires in 2022 – as Kapanen will be a restricted free agent once it is up.
Having a player entering his prime and still having some element of advantage in contract negotiations could certainly entice teams, especially if they opted to use him as trade bait further down the road around the trade deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have enough offensive firepower in their top six that they can afford to strip their bottom-six bare, adding cheaper veterans and some rookies into the line-up to complement their stars while focusing on the more urgent point of improvement – their defense.
For Kasperi Kapanen, that likely means he could be out the door by the time the 2020 Draft rolls around, with the Leafs needing to make moves early to get a good return and free up the cap space they desperately need to make changes before next season gets underway in December.