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?

What Are The Anaheim Ducks Thinking?

Without knowing the specifics of what Murray was offering, it’s hard to get a full picture of what could have been on his agenda. Yet, knowing that Toronto wanted to cut some salary, suggests that the Ducks would have been taking on salary and thus trading cheaper options and draft picks. If that hypothesis would be correct, then questions need to be asked about the Ducks’ direction.

Do the Anaheim Ducks think they are ready to contend as they are currently built, with the addition of 35-45 point scorer such as Kapanen?

The Anaheim Ducks finished the season with 182 goals scored (26th in the league). Even assuming we added all of Kapanen’s points to the ledger as goals, the Ducks would only move into 15th position in the league. Though naturally, that wouldn’t necessarily be the case and the number would be far less than that.

Thus the question has to be asked, where is additional scoring coming from to bridge the gap from the middle of the table to the leagues elite (the Ducks were 42 goals short of the 10th placed Las Vegas team)?

Given the Ducks would be closer to the salary cap, assuming that Toronto fulfilled its aim of cutting salary and that they would likely be forced to trade young talent to make the trade, it’s difficult to see where further scoring support would come from. Trades would be difficult and internal support unlikely, given the most likely sources would be from the potentially outgoing younger player.

What style of play do the Anaheim Ducks intend to implement in the future?

Kapanen has the makings of a wonderfully skilled, quick skating, forward. He has, over the course of his NHL career, become a little more versatile than he was perhaps projected to be when he was drafted 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. In each of his past 3 seasons, Kapanen has played an increasing role on the Toronto penalty kill, culminating last season as the 4th most used forward on their 21st-in-league ranked unit.

While it is worth noting the Leafs penalty kill was ranked 18th in 2018-2019 and 11th in 2017-2018, the decline certainly cannot be attributed solely to Kapanen’s rising minutes. It is merely an observation that his increasing role didn’t necessarily help the Leafs maintain their play in that sphere of play.

Nonetheless, his playstyle would seem at odds with recent Ducks draft selections, Max Jones and Maxime Comtois, who both play a far heavier game. Nick Ritchie too, while gone, was not the speedster that Kapanen can be. Perhaps players such as Sonny Milano and Sam Steel fit the quicker skater mold. Though all in all, it’s hard to discern a clear direction the Anaheim Ducks are trending towards.

Do they want to be a hard-hitting physical team employing the ilk of Jones and Comtois to bang bodies in the corners and rough up their opposition? Do they want to be the quick skating team that catches their opponent napping, and puts pressure on them off of the rush? Or are they simply looking to see what sticks and then build around those pieces?

Bob Murray is certainly no communicative genius and given his gaffes when he has spoken about his plans for the team, its no real surprise that he keeps his ideas to his chest. Nonetheless, it would be nice for fans to get a glimpse of the overarching theme behind Murray’s moves and ideas. Looking into a new era without Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry is a new world for everyone. Knowing the plan could go a long way to easing angst amongst the faithful.

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.