Former Leaf lands a multi-year deal with the Pens

Kapanen's new deal carries an AAV of just $3.2M, which matches his cap hit from the last 3 seasons, which he split between the Leafs and the Pens. His actual salary was just $2.34M, which left him in a spot where his qualifying offer was actually less than his previous AAV.

After a borderline disastrous season for the soon-to-be 26-year-old, it's very unlikely that he was going to benefit from salary arbitration, so agreeing to terms on a new deal at the same AAV will allow Kapanen to prove that he is the player that he was last season, when he scored 30 points in 40 games, rather than the player he was this year, when he scored just 32 points in 79 games.

Kapanen was originally drafted by the Pens in the 1st round (22nd overall) in 2014. He was acquired by the Leafs in the infamous Phil Kessel deal and spent 5 years with the Leafs organization before being shipped back to Pittsburgh in 2020, where he spent the last two seasons. When his new deal expires, the Finnish winger will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.