Kyle Dubas on the Kasperi Kapanen trade: “We are open to keeping the pick, but in the spot that we are in with our team right now, we are also open to moving it if the right deal came along for someone that could help us now”

In addition to addressing the questions below, Dubas confirmed that Hallander will compete for an NHL job in camp but the club will honour his contractual agreement with Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League if he does not make the team.

How long were these discussions in the works? How happy are you to get a first-round pick back in the deal?

Dubas: Our preparations internally have sort of begun since the pandemic started. As the new CBA began to have some solid formation and we knew that the cap was going to be flat, we were looking at our roster and determining where we were going to have to gain the most flexibility possible, or where we could draw from to gain that flexibility.