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?

Are The Ducks Young Players & Draft Picks On The Trade Block?

The Anaheim Ducks, it seems, were not willing to pony up more than Pittsburgh’s 15th overall draft selection, a recently selected in the 2nd round prospect, for Kapanen. While some other parts were moved, it seems unlikely that they will be extended by the Leafs, and were likely included as part of the overall salary reduction part of the trade equation. We fans should be grateful, Murray didn’t try to trump the Penguins in order to get this trade over the line.

However, as one of the six other teams that Lebrun suggested had spoken to Toronto about Kapanen, one wonders what the Ducks were willing to pay?

Knowing that Toronto wanted to cut salary and to hopefully acquire a first-round draft selection, was the draft pick acquired from the Boston Bruins on the table? It would seem like something that Toronto could have pressed them to give up. Given Hallander was part of the deal, did Toronto want a player of Brayden Tracey’s ilk to be included in the deal?

While it seems popular to imagine that the Ducks would be shopping Josh Manson, who seems like a player Toronto could use, it seems unlikely that he fits what the Leafs were looking for in this particular trade. It also fails to take into account how much the Ducks themselves want to keep Manson.

This isn’t to say that the question about the Ducks first-rounders and/or Tracey was asked, and the Ducks flatly refused them. It is entirely possible. It is also entirely possible that the Ducks were willing to give up the Boston selection, and it came down to Pittsburgh throwing in a better mix of assets that ultimately prevented the Ducks from making this trade.

For many rebuilding teams, this should really be a question. Recent rebuilding teams, such as the New York Rangers, have been quite vocal and transparent that they were in the midst of a rebuild. By saying that, fans knew they could expect their team to attempt to accrue draft assets or young players.

The Anaheim Ducks, however, have not been as transparent. While they’ve acquired a first-round draft selection and a number of younger players such as Sonny Milano, they’ve done so by trading away other young players such as Ondrej Kase. They’ve not moved any of their elder players, and have over the past two seasons, extended the older group for multi-year deals.

With the playing group largely within spitting distance of their “prime” scoring years, the Ducks current lineup is of a team that expects to be a contender. Thus, because the Anaheim Ducks direction is uncertain, the price the Ducks were willing to pay to acquire Kapanen is uncertain.

Have the Anaheim Ducks given up on some of their younger players?

Intrinsically one would think no, however, Terry was demoted to the AHL at the end of last season. It would have to be assumed that the acquisition of another player on the right-wing would only make it harder for him to claw his way back into the team. Something would have to give and with Milano being a recent acquisition and Jakob Silfverberg signed long term, Terry becomes the obvious choice to move.

In some way’s this kind of lateral move in reminiscent of the Bobby Ryan trade. Not necessarily in magnitude, but with regards to the return. At the time, the Ducks had Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne, Kyle Palmieri, Emerson Etem and Devante Smith-Pelley all in the fold. Ryan had been moved from his natural RW to play the left side. The Ducks had an absolute need, at the time, for a second-line center and a top 4 defenceman.

In return, the Ducks marque piece was RW Jakob Silfverberg. A return that eventually necessitated the trade of Kyle Palmieri for a relatively low return, given the Ducks and the Devils expected him to start scoring goals in a big way.

In this Kapanen idea, the Anaheim Ducks would be creating a log jam on the right side, likely requiring a future trade to amend the issue. The added wrinkle is that Kapanen would be yet another forward the Ducks would be required to protect in next summers expansion draft, which could have meant the true cost of the trade would have been X, Y, Z today, as well as whatever Seattle would choose to select later.

The Right Decision No Matter What

While I think most fans would agree that the Anaheim Ducks absolutely should not have paid the hefty price to acquire Kapanen that the Penguins did, the bigger question is whether Kapanen provided the answer to the Ducks woes. To me, the potential acquisition of Kapanen seems to raise more questions than it provides answers for. At least for the Ducks in their current position.

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For a contending team, such as Pittsburgh, who have their main pieces in place and are looking for a relatively cheap forward, Kapanen seems to have more value. The Anaheim Ducks certainly aren’t in that position, and it’s a tough sell to suggest that Kapanen is the piece that they require to get there.

From here it still remains to be seen what Bob Murray will attempt to do in order to reshape a team that has been in contention for the draft lottery the past two seasons. While it certainly isn’t out of the ordinary for successful teams to see a period of downturn when the good times have come to end, it isn’t necessarily a position that most in management would be happy to stay in.

Following six consecutive play-off bound seasons, the Anaheim Ducks have merely had two poor seasons in back-to-back fashion. Kicking the tires on Kapanen surely cannot be the last move Murray makes to alter the team, over the next few months.

It could be that Murray believes that with only minor tweaks the current playing group can recapture some post-season revenue, by sneaking into the playoffs for a few seasons more. It should be clear to all however, that this current group is unlikely to be a cup winner. After all, it’s incredibly tough to go from one of the bottom 10 sides to being the very best.

Given this, it’s hard to see where Kapanen would fit into a future Ducks lineup. Is he the missing piece to get them into the playoffs next season? Is he part of a long term rebuild that aims to be a cup contender in a few seasons time? Is he the answer to both of those questions, to a greater degree than whatever the Ducks would have been asked to give up?

Whichever question Murray deemed Kapanen the answer to, we as fans can be grateful that the trade was not executed at the level we saw Pittsburgh buy into. Sometimes the trades you don’t make are the best ones. Despite Kapanen’s abilities, not making this move could easily be one of Murray’s better “trades.”

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