The Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a surprising six-player blockbuster trade on Tuesday. Here are the full details:

Below, we hand out trade grades for each team:

Maple Leafs get impressive haul

Toronto needed to clear cap space this offseason to use while surely aiming to improve its defense. Moving Kapanen and his $3.2-million AAV (through 2021-22) may only be the beginning, but it's a great start. Among Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Alexander Kerfoot, the former was the team's most valuable trade asset due to his exceptional speed.

The Pens clearly value Kapanen more than the Leafs. The former 20-goal scorer wasn't able to mesh with Toronto's top-six forwards when given the opportunity. And while he's a good third-line player, a team with roughly $40-million tied up in four forwards can't afford to pay three third-liners north of $3 million. Plus, there are cheaper options - such as Nick Robertson - who can take Kapanen's top-nine role.

Last offseason, Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas was tasked with cleaning up the mess Lou Lamoriello left behind. He started by sacrificing a 2020 first-round pick to get Patrick Marleau's contract off the books, and then Dubas used the cap space to sign Kapanen and Johnsson. Now, the Leafs get back into the first round with the 15th overall selection - just two spots below where Toronto would've originally drafted had the team kept its pick. The 2020 draft is also considered to be deep.

Beyond the first-round pick, the Leafs also get a useful prospect in Hallander. The Penguins' second-round pick in 2018, The Athletic's Corey Pronman ranked the 20-year-old as Pittsburgh's fourth-best prospect, labeling him a legitimate future NHLer.

"Hallander isn’t a flashy player, with average foot speed and slightly above-average puck skills, but what drives his value is his high hockey IQ and compete level," Pronman wrote.

Meanwhile, there's no guarantee Lindgren, a fourth-round pick in 2014, or Aberg ever suit up for the Penguins. The same can be said for Rodrigues, a fourth-line caliber player, and Warsofsky, a 30-year-old with just 55 career NHL games played.

It boils down to a third-line winger for a mid-first-round pick and a solid prospect, making the trade a win for Dubas. While this swap will ultimately be graded on what the executive does with the cap space and pick, it's a very promising deal.

Grade: A

Penguins overpay for Kapanen

Are the Penguins a better team today than they were yesterday? Yes. Did they overpay to make it happen? Also yes.

Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said Kapanen can improve Pittsburgh's top-six forward group. However, Kapanen didn't take advantage of the top-six opportunities he received in Toronto. He possesses elite speed, but the 24-year-old isn't a proven finisher and he lacks vision.

Perhaps playing with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin could help unlock some potential - Rutherford is betting on it - but the analytics suggest he's best-suited for a third-line role.

Trading away a mid-first-round pick in a deep draft and a decent prospect for a third-line winger - who most of the league probably knew the Leafs wanted to part with - isn't getting great value.

Pittsburgh's window to secure another Stanley Cup is dwindling, so Rutherford is obviously doing whatever he can to win now. But using just one first-round pick over a seven-year span is concerning (he also traded his 2021 first-rounder for Jason Zucker).

It's impossible to knock what Rutherford did to help the Pens win Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. But having cost-effective players on entry-level contracts would certainly help Pittsburgh's cap situation, and first-round selections are generally needed to acquire those players.

Rutherford drafted Kapanen in 2014 with his first pick as GM of the Penguins. Kapanen's father, Sami, also played under Rutherford with the Carolina Hurricanes. So there's plenty of familiarity between the player and GM.

However, it's far from certain Kapanen develops into a top-six forward and helps Pittsburgh reach the promised land. If he's the same player he was in Toronto, and the Penguins fail to go on a deep playoff run over the next few years, this trade will be a failure.

Grade: C

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The Toronto Maple Leafs traded forward Kasperi Kapanen to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a package including a 2020 first-round pick, the team announced Tuesday.

Here are the full details:

The 24-year-old Kapanen tallied 13 goals and 36 points in 69 games with the Maple Leafs during the 2019-20 season.

The right-winger was originally the Penguins' first-round pick in 2014, but he was traded to Toronto a year later in the deal that brought Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh.

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Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford knows keeping both of his top two netminders beyond this offseason is a luxury his team likely can't afford.

"We know that there's a very, very good chance that we're going to have to move one of them," Rutherford told The Athletic's Josh Yohe regarding goaltenders Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry.

He added: "There is already interest. And it looks like we're going to have to move one of them."

Murray and Jarry are both restricted free agents this offseason, and allotting valuable salary-cap space to both doesn't seem necessary; the team has a capable backup in Casey DeSmith under contract at a modest $1.25 million annually for two more seasons.

The Penguins are projected to have $12.4 million in cap room this offseason, according to CapFriendly. But Pittsburgh also has six pending RFAs in addition to Murray and Jarry - including Jared McCann - who are in need of new contracts. The team also has a trio of pending unrestricted free agents in Conor Sheary, Patrick Marleau, and Justin Schultz.

It also wouldn't make sense for the Penguins to have both Murray and Jarry on the roster by the time the 2021 Seattle expansion draft rolls around; each team is permitted to protect just one goalie in the draft.

"I haven't gotten to the point yet where I'm having serious talks or seeing exactly how much I can get," Rutherford said. "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."

Deciding which goalie to trade could prove difficult. Murray, 26, led the Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, but he struggled mightily this season. Jarry, 25, is far less proven at the NHL level, but he enjoyed a breakout 2019-20 campaign that resulted in an All-Star nod.

With Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup window closing, it's critical Rutherford both keeps the right goaltender and nets a valuable return for the goalie he moves. No pressure.

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without two key pieces for the foreseeable future, as goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Erik Johnson are out indefinitely with undisclosed ailments, head coach Jared Bednar said Monday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Both players were injured in Game 1 against the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

The Avs will roll with backup Pavel Francouz - who was actually the team's most effective goalie this season - in Grubauer's absence.

Both netminders have been sensational in the postseason thus far, though.

Losing Johnson is a massive blow. The veteran blue-liner averaged 21:03 of regular-season ice time - the third-most on the team behind Samuel Girard and Nathan MacKinnon. The club counts on the 2006 No. 1 pick to play a shutdown role.

Kevin Connauton, a veteran of 314 NHL games, will draw into the lineup in Johnson's place. Bednar said he liked the play of young rearguards Bowen Byram and Conor Timmins in training camp, but the bench boss values Connauton's strength, puck-moving ability, and experience, according to The Athletic's Ryan Clark.

Forward Matt Calvert will also remain out of the lineup for Game 2, which is set for Monday at 9:45 p.m. ET.

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The Florida Panthers interviewed Sean Burke for their general manager vacancy, a source told Arizona Coyotes insider Craig Morgan.

Burke is currently a scout and goaltending consultant with the Montreal Canadiens. He worked in the Coyotes organization for nearly a decade from 2007-16 in a number of roles, including goalie coach, director of player development, and assistant GM. Burke also served as the GM for Hockey Canada at the Spengler Cup (2017-present), World Championship (2018), and Olympic Games (2018).

The 53-year-old enjoyed an 18-season playing career as a goaltender. He played 66 of his 820 NHL games with the Panthers.

Florida fired Dale Tallon as GM on Aug. 10.

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Marc-Andre Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, tweeted out a photo Saturday of a sword inscribed with Vegas Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer's name stabbing his client in the back.

Walsh is obviously not pleased DeBoer has rolled with Robin Lehner as the team's No. 1 goalie during the playoffs (he's started seven of nine games) instead of Fleury. Lehner addressed the tweet on Sunday after his shutout in Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks.

"Me and Marc were just laughing. It's always the media and everyone else that makes a big deal out of this," Lehner said, according to TSN. "I think me and Marc we get along great; he's a really good guy.

"This team is a (heck) of a group and everyone is really tight, and when this happened, I saw Marc and we were just laughing. That's all it is. At the end of the day, he didn't do anything. It was his agent, and if he wants to be unprofessional, go ahead. He looks terrible, but it is what it is."

Fleury declined to answer whether he knew Walsh was going to tweet the photo, but the veteran did say he asked his agent to delete the image the following morning. Fleury also noted that he and Lehner maintain a good relationship.

Lehner, whom the Golden Knights acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, is 6-1 in the playoffs with a .918 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average. The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent.

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Washington Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin will grace the cover of NHL 21, EA Sports announced Monday.

This isn't Ovi's first time on the front of a video game. He was the cover athlete for EA Sports' NHL 07 and 2K Sports' NHL 2K10. He also appeared on the front of the Russian edition of NHL 09.

Here's a look at the trailer:

Ovechkin was well on his way to another 50-goal season before the NHL halted the 2019-20 campaign, tying for the league lead with 48 tallies. The Great Eight fittingly ranks eighth on the NHL's all-time goals list with 706 and is 188 back of Wayne Gretzky for most ever.

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Antoine Roussel's intention to get under the skin of the Vegas Golden Knights appeared largely ineffective Sunday night.

The Vancouver Canucks pest seemed determined to antagonize his opponents during Game 1 of their second-round series, but it didn't phase the Golden Knights as Vegas marched to a 5-0 shutout victory.

"He's running around out there but I don't think he's distracting anyone but himself," Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith said postgame, according to SinBin.Vegas.

Jonathan Marchessault is also unconcerned about dealing with Roussel's antics as the series continues.

"That's why we pay (Ryan Reaves) the big bucks," he said after the win, according to David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Reaves, who signed a two-year, $3.5-million extension in June, sparred with Roussel all night - both physically and verbally.

Widely considered one of the toughest players in the league, Reaves taunted Roussel with chicken noises from the bench.

Without fans in the building, a hot mic even picked up Reaves' clucking:

Roussel eventually tried to fight Reaves, but the Golden Knights enforcer was having none of it with his team up 4-0. Roussel earned a 10-minute misconduct for the attempt.

The two players were in the thick of a scrum as the final horn sounded.

Game 2 is set for Tuesday at 9:45 p.m. ET.

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Hiring Todd Reirden's replacement is one of the biggest decisions Brian MacLellan will face in his executive career. The Washington Capitals general manager fired his head coach on Sunday after just two seasons, and finding his successor will be an integral part of the franchise's quest for another Stanley Cup.

Despite modest regular-season success, Reirden couldn't replicate the same defensive formula as his predecessor, Barry Trotz. In two seasons under Reirden, the Capitals ranked 19th in the NHL in goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five (GA/60). In the previous two years under Trotz, Washington ranked first.

MacLellan will surely target a coach with a track record of defensive success. And considering the organization's history of head coaches during the Alex Ovechkin era (MacLellan has been with the franchise since 2000, but he only became GM in 2014), he's going to pursue someone with extensive NHL head coaching experience.

Five of the six head coaches since Ovechkin arrived were hired with zero NHL head coaching experience, and the only one to truly pan out was Boudreau.

The Capitals are a veteran team with a dwindling Stanley Cup window. Ovechkin (34), Nicklas Backstrom (32), Evgeny Kuznetsov (28), T.J. Oshie (33), John Carlson (30), and Dmitry Orlov (29) aren't getting any younger.

Washington needs a veteran head coach who can immediately get players to play a tighter defensive system (like they were with Trotz) for the club to take a run at another Stanley Cup. There's no time to mess around with a rookie bench boss.

Here are the five best candidates for the job:

5. Mike Babcock

Hiring Babcock seems highly unlikely, considering the Toronto Maple Leafs are still paying him handsomely to hunt and travel. The Capitals, remember, were unwilling to meet Trotz's contract demands before he left for Long Island. Ponying up for Babcock doesn't seem to fit Washington's modus operandi.

Babcock has his flaws, too. In his four full seasons in Toronto, the Leafs finished in the top half of the league in goals against just once, and the Detroit Red Wings only reached that level twice over his final five campaigns in the Motor City. Babcock has also recorded just one playoff series win in the last eight years.

However, he's still one of the most decorated coaches of this era, which could tempt the Capitals. He's earned two Olympic gold medals, a World Cup title, a Stanley Cup, and has been to the finals on two other occasions. His attention to detail is impeccable and he can be a great motivator, though sometimes Babcock's methods are questionable.

4. John Stevens

Stevens is by far the least-experienced candidate on this list with only 362 career games as an NHL head coach, making him a bit of an underdog for the Caps' gig.

After an up-and-down tenure in Philly from 2006 to 2009, he joined the Los Angeles Kings' staff as an assistant coach in 2010, spending parts of six seasons under Darryl Sutter. The Kings were a defensive juggernaut during that time, winning Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.

He became Los Angeles' head coach prior to the 2017-18 season, making the playoffs on the strength of the league's No. 1 defense in goals allowed. The team received exceptional goaltending though, as its expected goals against rate was middle of the pack (xGA/60). He was fired after a rough start to the following campaign and spent this season as an assistant coach for the Dallas Stars, who ranked second in GA/60 and seventh in xGA/60.

3. Peter Laviolette

Laviolette's coaching career has been a tale of instant success. After the Carolina Hurricanes hired him in 2003, he won the Stanley Cup the next season. In his first campaign with the Philadelphia Flyers, he made it to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. In his third season with the Nashville Predators, he also made it to the final.

That trend should certainly be enough to tantalize the Capitals' front office and earn Laviolette an interview. But he's also established himself as an excellent defensive coach.

Over his last three full seasons with the Preds, they ranked second in GA/60. Pekka Rinne playing well certainly helped, but the Predators also ranked eighth in xGA/60, which doesn't factor in goaltending.

2. Gerard Gallant

Gallant has also achieved instant success often. His Jack Adams Award-winning season in 2017-18 after he brought the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup Final is well documented. But he's also responsible for the Florida Panthers' lone playoff appearance over the last eight years, leading the team to the postseason in his second campaign on the job.

The 56-year-old hasn't really received a fair shake, either. In Florida he was fired 22 games into the following season after making the playoffs, despite posting a tolerable 11-10-1 record. His replacement, Tom Rowe, went 24-26-10. Gallant was also infamously forced to wait for a taxi after his dismissal.

In Vegas, he was fired this season even while owning a respectable 24-19-6 record, and the league's second-best expected goals share. Gallant was unlucky, as Vegas posted the NHL's fourth-worst PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage) at the time he was canned.

1. Bruce Boudreau

Boudreau returning to D.C. would be quite the story. He got his first NHL head coaching gig with the Capitals during the 2007-08 season, promptly winning the Jack Adams Award after that campaign. He led Washington to four straight playoff berths, including a 121-point Presidents' Trophy-winning season in 2009-10 before being fired 22 games into the 2011-12 season.

His inability to advance past the second round was Boudreau's undoing in Washington. He's made the playoffs 10 times in his 13-year coaching career, but postseason failure followed him during stops with the Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild.

Boudreau had a bit of a reputation as an offensive coach during his time in Washington, but he's actually morphed into one of the league's best defensive coaches. Over his three full seasons in Minnesota, the Wild ranked first in the NHL in xGA/60, and ninth in GA/60. Even this season before he was fired, the Wild ranked first in xGA/60, but 14th in GA/60 due to some horrendous goaltending.

Most importantly, Boudreau has prior relationships with Caps players, giving him a leg up on other candidates. Five players still remain on the Capitals from the last Washington squad Boudreau coached, and he's appeared to maintain his connection with Ovechkin.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

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Marc-Andre Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, tweeted a photo Saturday of his client being stabbed in the back by a sword inscribed with Vegas Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer's name.

Walsh is apparently not happy the team relegated Fleury to backup duties (he's started two of Vegas' eight playoff games) in favor of trade-deadline acquisition Robin Lehner.

Fleury faced the music regarding the since-deleted tweet Sunday, and he declined questions about whether he had prior knowledge that Walsh would post the photo, according to the Las Vegas Sun's Justin Emerson.

"I really appreciated (Walsh’s) passion for the game that he has, and this was a way to defend me in this situation," Fleury said. "I’m here to win with my team, to have success. That’s what matters. I asked him to take that picture down."

Fleury also reiterated that he and Lehner have a good relationship.

"We all want to win, that's why we're here," Fleury added. "I really like Robin. We have a good friendship, and I think he's a really good goalie also. There are no hard feelings."

Vegas expects Lehner to start Game 1 against the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

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