Anaheim Ducks Interest in Kasperi Kapanen Raises Questions

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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