Here is another take on this trade, which I would guess aligns with a portion of Leafs fan base.
With the Kasperi Kapanen trade, Kyle Dubas sets the table for a fascinating offseason ahead
The first big trade of what is sure to be a busy Toronto Maple Leafs offseason is now in the books.
Yesterday’s Kasperi Kapanen trade felt a little weird at first knowing most of us were in the mindset for a few years now that a Kapanen deal would be a hockey trade to immediately improve a weakness (i.e. defense) on the current roster, but it could well prove to be a good bit of creativity by Kyle Dubas to get this type of trade done as early as he got it done.
At least in my view, the 15th overall draft pick and some cap flexibility — they still need more of the latter, to be sure — is almost certainly going to carry more value than Kasperi Kapanen at $3.2 million when the offseason really kicks off (this is to say nothing of the prospect they fetched in the deal as well). There are too many teams that are going to be feeling the squeeze and will be shedding salary to deal with the flat cap ceiling and tightened internal budgets.
If you’re the deep-pocketed, in-a-Cup-window Leafs and you’re looking to make use of what little space and futures you do have to upgrade the roster with an eye towards a deep playoff run in 2020-21, Dubas’ urgency to jump into the trade waters early and set the table makes a lot of sense. In any offseason, I’m pretty convinced a 15th overall, a B or B+ prospect, and a little cap space to manoeuvre carries more value than a $3.2 million 15-20 goal middle-six winger.
The alternative would have been to sit around and try to swing a hockey trade that might never materialize involving some of the team’s second-tier forwards — Kapanen, Johnsson, Kerfoot — for defense help, or to flip one or two of these pieces for futures at the draft to open space ahead of free agency. Now, improving flexibility and storing some gun powder for later is not the same thing as acquiring — via trade or free agency — a defenseman that can play tough minutes for you capably. That’s where the really hard part comes in. It has to be the first of many instances of creativity from Dubas if he’s going to achieve his goal of improving the overall roster.
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https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2020...-the-table-for-a-fascinating-offseason-ahead/