Back to the Future: Penguins Reacquire Kapanen

Jim Rutherford’s biggest and most impactful trade in the Steel City has come full circle. Five years and change after JR boldly swapped promising first-round pick Kasperi Kapanen to Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel blockbuster, he reversed his course and reacquired Kapanen as part of a multi-player deal.

Also arriving are Swedish forward Pontus Aberg and promising 23-year-old defenseman Jesper Lindgren. The price? Our first-round pick in the upcoming Entry Draft, former second-round pick Filip Hallander, restricted free agent Evan Rodrigues and minor-league defenseman David Warsofsky.

Although many have panned the trade, at first blush I like it. We added to our organizational depth, especially on the right side, without giving up anything too egregious in return.

Yes, it would be nice to have a first-round pick…the rarest of commodities in these parts. But, as a general rule, when you’re picking 15th overall you get a player like…well…Kapanen.

Speaking of Kasperi, he can really fly. He’s not bashful about shooting the puck, either, as his 325 total shots attempted in ‘18-19 will attest. To put that in perspective, Pens gunner Jake Guentzel attempted 375 shots that same season. Kapanen’s a good two-way player and penalty killer to boot with solid possession numbers (a career Corsi for of 52.0).

Nor does he shy away from contact (92 hits in ’18-19 and 73 this season). In fact, during Toronto’s 4-0 stomping of the Pens on February 20, he challenged Patric Hornqvist to a go before dropping the mitts with Jared McCann in a brief but spirited scrap. At 6’1″ and 192 pounds, he’s practically a power forward by the Penguins’ Smurf-ish standards.

After filling mostly a third-line role in Toronto, he’ll likely be given a shot at top-six duty in the ‘burgh…perhaps in the problematic right wing slot beside Sidney Crosby. While not a hugely gifted scorer, he did net 20 goals two seasons ago. The Pens are undoubtedly banking on some potential upside to the 24-year-old’s game a la Bryan Rust.

Kapanen’s under contract for two more seasons at a cap hit of $3.2 million. So the Pens have some control.

Rutherford seemed pleased with his haul.

“Kasperi is a good, young player that brings speed to our lineup and plays the way we want to play,” he said.

Maybe I’m guilty of reading between the lines, but I found the last part of JR’s statement revealing. Eschewing a change in philosophy, it sounds like the Pens will once again employ an up-tempo, puck-possession style. A notion reinforced by the inclusion of Aberg, a speedy left wing who notched a dozen goals at the NHL level in 2018-19 and was rumored to be on our radar for a while.

In Lindgren, 23, JR added a second right-handed shooting defenseman within the past week. On Friday, he signed undrafted Josh Maniscalco from Arizona State. Apparently, the two have a similar skill set, including wheels and the ability to move the puck quickly to the forwards. A staple in Mike Sullivan’s scheme.

It’ll be interesting to see how the trade affects Rutherford’s decision-making concerning free-agent forwards Conor Sheary and Dominik Simon. It seems highly unlikely that the former will return…even at a rock-bottom rate. Simon, on the other hand, appears to have nine lives.

Nothing personal, but I’d like to see us move on from both.

Ten-Four Good Buddy

Not to beat a horse that’s long been dead and moldering in the grave, but I’m doing a slow burn over Jamie Oleksiak’s emergence as a postseason stud.

Just to refresh your memory, Rutherford acquired the “Big Rig” from Dallas (at Sergei Gonchar’s behest) in December of 2017 for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2019 Entry Draft.

Considered a project, the hulking 6’7” blue-liner blossomed during his stint with the black and gold, tallying a highly respectable eight goals and 25 points along with a plus-18 in 83 regular-season games over two seasons before mysteriously falling into disfavor.

Shipped back to Dallas in January 2019, he received sheltered minutes under former coach Stars Jim Montgomery. But Jamie gained the trust of current coach Rick Bowness, and his team has been reaping the rewards…in spades.

In 11 postseason games, the Toronto native’s tallied three goals and five points to go with a sterling plus-11, while averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game.

Yet another case of Sullivan’s penchant for playing favorites, not to mention an almost pathological bias against players who possess size and a physical bent, coming back to bite us in the Johnson (pun intended).