The Toronto Maple Leafs pulled off a multi-player swap with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, sending forward Kasperi Kapanen, Pontus Aberg and defenseman Jesper Lindgren in exchange for Evan Rodrigues, Filip Hallander and David Warsofsky.
However, the biggest part of the acquisition going back to Toronto is Pittsburgh’s 1st round selection in the 2020 Draft (15th overall). They now have a 1st round selection in this year’s festivities after having traded their original 1st round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes last summer along with veteran forward Patrick Marleau as part of a cap dump.
“Kasperi is a good, young player that brings speed to our lineup and plays the way we want to play,” Penguins general manager (and former Detroit Red Wings goaltender) Jim Rutherford said in the team’s press release. “Having previously drafted him, we know him as a player and feel he can improve our top-6. Aberg and Lindgren are both young players that will further add to our organizational depth.”
Kapanen has two years left on his contract with an AAV of $3.2 million. He recorded career highs in 2018-19 for the Leafs, scoring 20 goals with 44 points in 78 games played.
Both the Penguins and Maple Leafs were ousted in their first round series of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the NHL’s Toronto bubble.
– – Quotes via Sportsnet Staff Link – –
