The issue is most people look at both Kapanen trades.

Penguins gave a 1st rounder plus to Leafs with Kapanen (Kessel trade) and now gave another 1st rounder plus to Leafs again to get Kapanen back.


Really think about that.

I hope so

You’re relying a lot on him being a 25 goal, 60 point top 6 RW to get value out of this trade. He’s a good 3RW who can get 20g40p, but he didn’t play all that well when given the opportunity to play in Toronto’s top 6, and he doesn’t have the versatility to play LW either. If he becomes a solid top 6 guy it’s a worthwhile overpay, but if he doesn’t it’s just bad. It also lets Toronto replenish their prospect pool and gives them financial stability, which were issues a good GM would have exploited to get a better deal tbh

I think the Leafs made out well but Kap is still valuable. A first rounder is great and so is a solid prospect but they still haven't touched NHL ice. An NHL player with upside is way more valuable then a first round pick not in the top 10. Not to mention he is under contract for 2 years with the real money owed less than his cap hit and RFA still.

The Lightning paid 2 firsts (Nolan foote + pick) for Blake Coleman who is a 20 goal guy on a great contract. With the flat cap because of the pandemic the cost certainty of an NHL player already on a decent contract may be more valuable then previous years.

Well the Kessel trade was different because Phil had the option in his contract to only be traded to 8 teams and he picked a bunch of teams with no cap room. So the Leafs were basically forced to take less than market value for Kessel

Its definitely possible. Burakovsky had 25 points in Washington on a team with Ovechkin, Backstrom, Carlson, Kuznetsov, etc. Colorado gave up a good package for him and this year he was great. Sometimes a guy just doesn't fit with a team for whatever reason and then you put him in a different system with a different coach and he plays better. Also Toronto gets $3.2 million in cap space from this deal which isn't going to get you a top pairing RHD

So I think its an over pay but I dont think its crazy. Hes a useful player and he'll still be an rfa when the contract expires so you can retain him long term. I think that adds to the cost.

That doesn’t make the trade any better though lol

Well I mean if the problem is that we gave up a 1st if we get another one back for Murray it doesn't look as bad

That was at the trade deadline. Contenders constantly overpay to get a player to put them over the top. No reason to overpay for a 3rd line player like that instead of using that package to go after someone like a legit top 6 like Nylander, not Kapanen.

We do not need another guy who is soft as a ****ing feather like Nylander is who won't go to the net. Sid needs a guy on his line who will go to dirty areas to get the puck so he and Zucker/Guentzel can get separation and make plays. Kapanen can be that guy. He is fast, physical, and can finish. If you think Nylander is what this team needs you must not have watched a game of that Montreal series

Zucker is a perennial 20/45 guy and went for a similar package but is paid 5.5 million. Kapanen has done that once already while not getting any first unit power play time and playing 3rd line minutes and he is 3.2 million a season.

I'm not saying he's the best option out there, but he's no 3rd line plug. He is young with the possibility to be a great investment if JR sees him as a top 6 forward for the Pens, who are trying to be contenders for a few remaining years of Sid/Geno/Letang.

Its better to be terrible to accumulate top picks than be mediocre for an extended period of time. Having an abundance of mid 1st round picks will never be enough to put you over the top. Almost every top team in the league had a rough period to be able to draft their current stars.

Yes it does. A trade doesn’t suddenly look better because of another trade involving separate players. If we trade Murray for a 1st and keep our 1st by not overspending for kap, then we have 2 first round picks. And could use them both in a package to obtain an actual top 6 RW lol

If you think another 3rd liner that can’t finish and has been labeled by experts of being inconsistent then you clearly didn’t watch a game of the Montreal series

Here’s the difference: Zucker didn’t play with elite and franchise talent in Minnesota. Kapanen played with Mathews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares and did frig all on the score sheet. That’s why he was moved to 3rd line half way through last year

He is a top 6 winger. The only reason he wasn't on Toronto was because they have Marner and Nylander. And he got all those points with little to no power play time. And he's still an RFA at the end of his steal of a contract. If you really think its that bad of a trade I can't convince you that it isn't because we haven't played the games yet but if we win the cup with him I think it'll be well worth it

Yeah and Burakovsky did frig all with Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Oshie, and Carlson and got stuffed on the 3rd line and what do you know next year Colorado "overpays" for him and he has a great year

"Labeled by experts" okay bud. I'm sure Burakovsky was labeled "pretty inconsistent" by "experts" before last year too

That’s BS and you know it...or you haven’t watched a Maple Leafs game ever lol. He spent the majority of his even strength time in the top 6 with Toronto and couldn’t produce. He only got bumped down to consistent 3rd line duties this past year when he could only muster a whopping 5 points in the top 6 to start the season. He’s a 3rd liner, period. He produces like a 3rd liner and plays like a 3rd liner. And the fact that he doesn’t even play PP just proves even further it was terrible and a massive over pay. The pens power play was atrocious due to a lack of a quality right handed shot on the left wall. We have Zucker, Rust, Hornqvist who are all net front and grindy pests. We literally just paid for another Rust lol.

Overpaid for Burakovsky? In what world did they overpay? They got him for a 2nd and the 3rd that they received for Soderberg. No top 15 pick and top 5 organizational prospect

They didn’t overpay for him...so 🤷‍♂️

"Maybe if I say lol at the end of every post it'll make this guy on the internet who I've never met and never will meet in real life feel stupid for having the audacity to disagree with me over a hockey player" He plays like a 3rd liner does he? Pretty sure Rust plays like a 3rd liner too and had worse production than Kapanen before this year. Does he suck too? "We literally just paid for another Rust" I really like Bryan Rust I don't know about you. It seems to me that he plays the way Sullivan and JR want the rest of the team to play so why not trade for a guy whose like him? Maybe since Rust played really well last year, and Kapanen apparently plays exactly like Rust according to you, then maybe Kapanen will have a good year as well. Doesn't that sound reasonable?

He had 25 points the year before. Kapanen would've had 40 points in a full season and kills penalties, and is physical, and has a good contract, and is an RFA when that good contract expires. Also top 5 organizational prospect on one of the worst farm systems in the league means he might not even play in the NHL