Dan’s Daily: Penguins Trade Fallout After Kapanen, NHL Trade Talk

It was an interesting day after the Pittsburgh Penguins trade, wasn’t it? Months after saying the Penguins need to start keeping first-round picks, and a week after keeping the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford flipped that pick to Toronto for speedy forward Kasperi Kapanen. The teams also swapped prospects and minor leaguers. The Vancouver Canucks evened their Round 2 series, the Tampa Bay Lightning won in OT to even their series with Boston Bruins, and the Metro Division trade talk has started.

First, here’s the Penguins trade for Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

I’m happy to say we were first on the Penguins trade package to Toronto. The details were leaking at a snail’s pace yesterday, but we finally got it.

The Pittsburgh Penguins paid a steep price to win now. For our subscribers, here is the full analysis of the trade, including who won. We left no doubt about that (PHN+)

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From the Toronto side, they seemed quite happy. Toronto now has space and chips to continue its retool (Sportsnet)

Toronto GM Kyle Dubas said the deal was a prelude to more (TSN)

Two teams in a similar spot. Talented core group. A string of early playoff exits. One team traded its first round lottery pick in a deep draft for Kapanen. The other shed salary for more moves and received a first-round pick.

We’re giving this trade a D for the Penguins. See the above PHN+ analysis for the full takedown.

The Vancouver Canucks turned up the heat on Vegas in Game 2 (Vancouver Sun)

After giving up five goals, it will be interesting if Vegas head coach Pete DeBoer turned to Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Will DeBoer be resistant because of Fleury-agent Allan Walsh’s very public criticism?

It’s tough to find good Vegas hockey talk. Maybe someone should change that ASAP.

NHL trade talk: Is Josh Anderson a trade chip in Columbus? (Sportsnet)

National Hockey Now

What is Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau worth on the trade market? We asked a Calgary writer that question (San Jose Hockey Now)

The Tampa Bay Lightning evened the Eastern Conference heavyweight fight with the Boston Bruins, 1-1 with an OT winner (Boston Hockey Now)

From our buddy Jimmy Murphy, THIS is the rivalry we need right now (Boston Hockey Now)

The Colorado Avalanche are down 2-0. They looked brilliant against Chicago, but are getting owned by Dallas. Adrian Dater dishes some grades, two games into the series (Colorado Hockey Now)

The New York Islanders will be featured in the Quest for the Cup docu-series (NYI Hockey Now)

Our Rob Simpson did great work in Toronto. He really did from his exclusive interview with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly to some wonderful insights from our seat in the arena. It was a pleasure to have him on board, and we hope to find a permanent position for him soon. Saying Goodbye to the Bubble and Toronto (Florida Hockey Now)