How much do the Leafs miss Kapanen?

[ronduguayshair]

I'm a Pens fan and come in peace. I usually watch 50% of the leafs games as they are fun to watch. This year, however I haven't gotten a chance to yet.

When I watched the Leafs in previous years I really liked the way Kapanen pushed the pace. Tonight is his debut in a Pens sweater. Its unsure to me whether he'll be miscast in Pittsburgh. I like what he brings but is he a top 6?

Not sure.

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[BlueForever75]

Not much at all. The Leafs seem the same if not better with Kappy gone along with Johnssson.

We added a different dimension to our team, in the first few games it seems like the team is harder to play against. Dont get me wrong I liked Kappy as a player, but what he brought to team at his cost was grossly overpaid.

But he should do well playing with Crosby.

 

[A1LeafNation]

We don't miss him, we have too many good wingers and wing prospects.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

not really at all. That doesn't mean he won't help Pittsburgh out, he just didn't really fit with the Leafs unfortunately. He didn't look good in the top 6, but was a good offensive 3rd liner who could take advantage of weak matchups

 

[Advanced stats]

Don't miss him much, but wish him all the best in Pittsburgh.

The hope was that Robertson would take his spot in short order, but injury got in the way.

Simmonds has taken his spot in the meantime and for what we lose in scoring touch and speed, we gain in grit and defensive awareness.

 

[zeke]

Kappy is a good offensive player. He could put up a lot of points for you. He was an excellent even strength producer and never really got a shot at full PP time, so he could easily become closer to a 30/60 guy if he's used with Sid or Geno and gets PP time to boot. He's also fun to watch - super fast and sometimes gritty too.

Overall he's not the smartest player, though, and this effects his ability to contribute offensively outsife of solo efforts, and makes him a poor defensive player. So overally his analytics were pretty terrible.

That being said, he's still very young, and can improve all that. I wouldn't be shocked to see him become very productive for you guys, and even tidy up his all around game too.

Am i sad to see him go? not so much. I do think his skillset was mostly replaceable here.

 

[Martin Skoula]

He hasn't been good with top centers, he just doesn't process the game fast enough. If he swallows his pride and dedicates himself to becoming a grinder for Crosby maybe it can work.

IMO your realistic best case scenario is a young Hagelin who can abuse 3rd line competition with his speed and be a threat on the PK.

 

[Papi 4 Hart]

0%. Guy has blinders on. He is better than Rodriguez on the first line however for you guys. So enjoy!

 

[CincoHolio]

I don't think they miss him 1 iota. Most of us said the same when he was initially traded and to be perfectly honest, the team looks better with others in his place.

 

[BTP]

He scores some pretty clutch goals in BIG moments so I will miss that. And he was by far the fastest skater on the team, just his brain and hands couldnt really keep up.

 

[ToneDog]

Kappy was a 15-20 goal man with great speed and good on the PK. Seriously who on our bottom 9 is going to get close to 15 goals, let alone bring what Kappy brought? Hyman has been a beast but he won't be as productive playing with Kerfoot as we was with Matty and JT.

Guess some Leaf fans don't miss Kadri and AJ either.

Kappy goona be great in Pittsburgh once he hits the ice.

 

[banks]

Haven't missed him yet. But that's because of the wing depth Toronto has. The reason we don't miss him is the reason he was traded at all.

He's going to impress in PIT, I guarantee that.

 

[Punch Drunk Loov]

Pretty skilled at producing offense by himself. That skillset is pretty far from our needs so no, we don't miss that secondary scoring element too much as there isn't enough icetime to give to 3rd line scoring wingers. We desperately needed grinders in that slot.

 

[Stephen]

I don’t miss him at all but it needs to be qualified somewhat.

Kapanen seems to have a bit of an identity crisis in terms of what kind of player he is. When he was paired with Clifford and fancied himself a grinder tough guy, he brought a nice spark to the team that didn’t always bring. When he mixed in that snarl he can be an effective player.

When he plays like he’s a member of the Big 4 and relies solely on his speed and skill, he’s quite vanilla. He doesn’t have terrific vision or creativity and seems to approach the game with blinders on.
He can create rushes all by himself but it’s not always effective.

Certainly we have guys who can fill either role better than Kapanen, but maybe as he matures he’ll find the right mix of what works for him.

 

[LeafChief]

He's fast and not super intelligent. Very fast though.

 

[ottomaddox]

I think he'll be fine playing in the Pens' top 6.

He's turning out to be where he was projected:

Top 9 winger in the NHL.

 

[Mickey Marner]

We could use a natural PK'er, but I wasn't a fan of Kapanen myself. I think we need a grit/defense/PK/agitation/depth scoring replacement for what Kadri and Komorov brought more so than Kapanen.

 

[ronduguayshair]

He hasn't been good with top centers, he just doesn't process the game fast enough. If he swallows his pride and dedicates himself to becoming a grinder for Crosby maybe it can work.

IMO your realistic best case scenario is a young Hagelin who can abuse 3rd line competition with his speed and be a threat on the PK.

We could run a Tanev and Kap unit. Talk about speed.

Dupuis worked well with Crosby as a straight like player with speed but he had a great shot. We'll see.

 

[ToneDog]

I don’t miss him at all but it needs to be qualified somewhat.

Kapanen seems to have a bit of an identity crisis in terms of what kind of player he is. When he was paired with Clifford and fancied himself a grinder tough guy, he brought a nice spark to the team that didn’t always bring. When he mixed in that snarl he can be an effective player.

When he plays like he’s a member of the Big 4 and relies solely on his speed and skill, he’s quite vanilla. He doesn’t have terrific vision or creativity and seems to approach the game with blinders on.
He can create rushes all by himself but it’s not always effective.

Certainly we have guys who can fill either role better than Kapanen, but maybe as he matures he’ll find the right mix of what works for him.

Nicely said but who are those guys (not named Matty, Mitch, Johnny or Willie) that fill either role better ?

 

[PromisedLand]

I'm a Pens fan and come in peace. I usually watch 50% of the leafs games as they are fun to watch. This year, however I haven't gotten a chance to yet.

When I watched the Leafs in previous years I really liked the way Kapanen pushed the pace. Tonight is his debut in a Pens sweater. Its unsure to me whether he'll be miscast in Pittsburgh. I like what he brings but is he a top 6?

Not sure.

He might have off-ice issues; but if he playing with Malkin or Crosby then I expect him to put up good numbers. With the Leafs he did not have easy assignments (i.e. scoring role) and did not have many minutes. He was mostly used in a defensive role.

I think his ceiling isn't reached as yet. I think once he matures he will be a very effective NHLer

 

[Warden of the North]

I do not.

The first time he blows down the ice and shoots directly into the goalies chest while completely ignoring his linemates, you wont either.

IMO hes best played in the bottom 6 where he can just do his thing (which is be a lone wolf) and hope that his speed burns a lead foot bottom pairing. He does not use his linemates well enough to be in the top 6.

 

[wingman75]

Zero %

And we miss Johnsson even less imo.

Worst passers I have ever seen and below average finishers. Good skaters and did create some havoc, but very unimpactful in the big picture imo. We need guys will will win one on one battles along the boards, or wherever I guess. The players we have now create a more complete team even if they are slower and older.

 

[PromisedLand]

Zero %

And we miss Johnsson even less imo.

Worst passers I have ever seen and below average finishers. Good skaters and did create some havoc, but very unimpactful in the big picture imo. We need guys will will win one on one battles along the boards, or wherever I guess. The players we have now create a more complete team even if they are slower and older.

I sometimes wonder what do we expect here in the Leafs nation from players making around 3M AAV; do we want them to all be Marner and Matthews?

 

[ronduguayshair]

He might have off-ice issues; but if he playing with Malkin or Crosby then I expect him to put up good numbers. With the Leafs he did not have easy assignments (i.e. scoring role) and did not have many minutes. He was mostly used in a defensive role.

I think his ceiling isn't reached as yet. I think once he matures he will be a very effective NHLer

I keep hearing about these off ice issues but nothing specific. Is it just a maturity thing? Is he addicted to fortnite?

 

[wingman75]

I sometimes wonder what do we expect here in the Leafs nation from players making around 3M AAV; do we want them to all be Marner and Matthews?

I expect an NHLer to be able to make a pass... neither of them could. I expect them to win some battles, neither did very often. They could skate... fast. We already have that in spades. We are better without them, they will be good for other teams as they fit a need they have.