If there’s one name that’s been in every single Maple Leafs trade rumour since the second he was acquired in the Phil Kessel trade, it’s Kasperi Kapanen. Now there is a report that the Leafs are about to sign Kapanen to an extension.
Kapanen is finishing the last year of his ELC, a deal he signed in 2014 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted him 22nd overall that year. He was traded to the Leafs on July 1, 2015.
Unlike Andreas Johnsson, Kapanen is not yet arbitration eligible; he would be after next season, so a deal that buys more than one year of his arbitration years would be ideal.