Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said two weeks ago that “Changes need to be made” and those changes are beginning to happen right now.
Tuesday, the Penguins made their first big move of the offseason sending the Leafs the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Evan Rodrigues, Filip Hallander, and David Warsofsky for Kasperi Kapanen, Pontus Aberg, and Jesper Lindgren.
TRADE:
To Pittsburgh #Penguins:
F Kasperi Kapanen
F Pontus Aberg
D Jesper LindgrenTo Toronto #MapleLeafs:
PIT 2020 1st RD pick (15th overall)
F Filip Hållander
F Evan Rodrigues
D David Warsofskyhttps://t.co/pOmLyOX15A— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 25, 2020
The trade clears $3.2 million in cap space for the Leafs.
The Kapanen trade clears $3.2M in cap space for the Toronto Maple #Leafs
We now have them projected for 2020-21 with $7.7M in cap space and a roster of 16 players (8F – 6D – 2G)https://t.co/BPt2vFET34
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 25, 2020
It also gives the Penguins a fast, skilled forward that has averaged 17 goals and 40 points per season over the last two years.
Guentzel-Crosby-Kapanen
Zucker-Malkin-RustThat’s a really good, really fast top six. I feel like the rest of the lineup will look drastically different within a few months.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) August 25, 2020
Here is the Leafs’ press release.
Meanwhile, Rutherford recently shared with The Athletic that he has received interest in goaltenders Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry. Both are restricted free agents.
“I haven’t gotten to the point yet where I’m having serious talks or seeing exactly how much I can get,” Rutherford told The Athletic. “But I will say, I’m getting close to that point, to understanding just what people are willing to give. So, we’ll see. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to go, but I can already see that there is going to be a lot of interest.
“There is already interest. And it looks like we’re going to have to move one of them.”
