It should be a busy and transformative offseason for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and now the club has a head-start on it.
Speedy winger Kasperi Kapanen has been traded back to the Pittsburgh Penguins after five seasons with the Maple Leafs organization, and in exchange Toronto will receive a first-round selection. A former first-round pick of the Penguins originally, Kapanen’s time with the Leafs has come full circle after he served as the key return asset in the trade that sent Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh back in 2015.
Toronto will now select in the first round, 15th overall, in the upcoming NHL Draft after dealing its original pick to the Carolina Hurricanes in order to dump Patrick Marleau’s salary.