Kyle Dubas explains why he traded Kasperi Kapanen — and what comes next - The Athletic

Not long after Dave Nonis was fired as general manager in the spring of 2015, a Maple Leafs front office co-run by Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter executed a series of trades.

The first one brought back Zach Hyman from Florida. The second saw Martin Marincin (now the second-longest serving Leaf behind only Morgan Rielly) come aboard from Edmonton. And the third, of course, which sent Phil Kessel packing, returned a package highlighted by Kasperi Kapanen.

Now, five years later, as GM, it’s Dubas who unloaded Kapanen back to Pittsburgh, the first domino to fall in what should be an eventful offseason for the Leafs.

About five hours after the trade went down — which netted the Leafs the 15th overall pick in the October draft, prospect Filip Hallander, depth, and crucially, cap space — the Leafs GM explained his rationale for the move and what lies ahead for the organization.

Here’s what we learned:

The Leafs wanted more...

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2020-08-26 01:03:05Z
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