Anaheim Ducks Interest in Kasperi Kapanen Raises Questions

The Anaheim Ducks’ interest in Kasperi Kapanen raises a lot of questions.

By now everyone in the hockey world has heard about how Kyle Dubas, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, “zigged” instead of “zagged” and somehow twisted the Pittsburgh Penguins metaphorical arm, getting them to pony up the 15th overall draft selection in this year’s draft, as well as a reasonable prospect in Filip Hallander, and perhaps most importantly, claim some ever-illusive cap space. At face value, this has naught to do with the Anaheim Ducks.

Yet, Pierre Lebrun mentioned that the Ducks were in on talks for the main part of the Toronto trade. Coming off a 44-points in 78 game campaign, it appeared that the sky was the limit for the then-23-year-old forward. However, this season Kapanen presented some flaws in his game, namely that he struggled to shift to his off-wing (not unusual) and perhaps an inability to think the game as fast as his hands and feet might have suggested. An 8-point decline in 9 fewer games was the result, despite the player gaining a bigger role on the team.

"“According to sources, the Toronto Maple Leafs spoke to the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, and Carolina Hurricanes about Kasperi Kapanen.” –Pierre Lebrun, Senior NHL Columnist for the Athletic"

At 24-years-old, it would seem that Kapanen is largely at the heights of his powers as a scorer. That’s not to say he won’t put up buckets of points skating alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin because he absolutely will. The sticking point is that the Anaheim Ducks don’t have a Crosby or Malkin to partner him with, and a 35-45 point player would likely be assigned to a middle-6 role. It’s hard to see Kapanen breaking out in his own right and becoming a star top-line wing from this point onwards.

Thus, the question needs to be asked, why were the Anaheim Ducks were pursuing him? Does Bob Murray think that the Ducks are short on middle-6 forwards? Was he enamored with the players skating speed, and thinks the players the Anaheim Ducks currently have are too slow? It surely wouldn’t be the first time that Ducks fans have seen Murray go all-in on a “speed cycle.” What would happen with the Ducks’ current collection of middle-6 wings?

Consider that this collection includes players such as Troy Terry, Max Comtois, Max Jones, as well as perhaps Brayden Tracey in the near future. We can possibly include the recently acquired Danton Heinen and Sonny Milano in that mix as well if we’re completely honest about their performance since arriving with the Ducks.

This then is the comparison that needs to be made. The Maple Leafs went into the trade looking to regain a first-round pick, given that they had given one up in a previous trade (the #13th overall), and to gain some valuable cap space to help them build around their star players.

They added that and picked up a little extra with Filip Hallander also coming over. It can also be said that Pittsburgh went into the trade looking to acquire a top-6 wing to play alongside their aging but still good star pivots. They gave up more than may like, but they clearly hit their targets. What did Murray go into trade talks looking to achieve?