The Pittsburgh Penguins sit comfortably in a playoff spot so why would they look at trading Kasperi Kapanen at the NHL trade deadline? NHL rumors have the Pens looking to free up salary cap space and Kapanen is the odd man out.
Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff reports Pittsburgh does not have cap space, they don’t want to trade future assets to help a core long in the tooth to chase one last Stanley Cup.
Seravalli went on to say, the Penguins will go about exploring a Kapanen trade. He could be a better fit on either a playoff or non-playoff team. The Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks have interest in a Kapanen trade.
Kapanen, 25, is a restricted free agent with an $3.2 million AAV. With a Kapanen trade the Penguins would use the freed up salary to pursue another forward or stay-at-home defenceman but a Kasperi Kapanen trade also opens up some cap flexibility for retaining others this coming offseason.
