No one was surprised when the Maple Leafs traded Kasperi Kapanen, but I think most of us were surprised by the return. Kapanen brought back a fifteenth overall pick and an interesting prospect in Filip Hållander. The rest of the deal is just fringe elements and doesn’t really mean much.
I think this trade looks like a fleecing for the Leafs for a player who is not value added above a third-line role. Kapanen has often been miscast as an offensive player because of his speed, and yet his isolated player impacts have always have always shown it’s his shot-share that he’s best at.