Quote:
Originally Posted by GullFoss
Can someone explain to me why Toronto would want to trade Kapanen? Is it just for the cap savings (to add to back-end) or to acquire a defenseman for the back end?
I think Dubas is stupid, but he can't be so stupid as to trade Kapanen for a rental defenseman or one he could acquire as a UFA. It also doesn't make sense to trade a top-6 player that's making $3m a year, just because "he's buried in the depth chart" unless you're taking back a young defenseman who's equally underpaid.
If you have a $3m player that is ready for a top-6 role, you make room for him by trading a higher priced contract. It would make far more sense for the leafs to trade Marner, Tavares, Matthews or Nylander for a high end defenseman (or two).
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I don't think Dubas is trading Kapanen, or any of their players with term left for someone who isn't going to be retained beyond the end of the season. That doesn't rule out UFAs though, as negotiations can be done before trades are finalized (like we saw with Stone last year) - and when it comes to Toronto, we know that they have had significant interest in both Brodie and Hamonic previously.