The Phil Kessel Trade Tree (2015 TOR-PIT)

Maple Leafs trade Phil Kessel to PenguinsJul 1, 2015

Pittsburgh Penguins receive

• PPhil KesselPhil Kessel, forwardToronto retained $1.2M of Kessel's $8.0M AAV for the remaining seven seasons of his contract, so Kessel counted approximately $6.8M against Pittsburgh's cap. Kessel won two Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh (2016, 2017), then was traded by Pittsburgh to Arizona on June 29, 2019 (with a 2021 fourth-round pick and prospect Dane Birks) for Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, a Pittsburgh-side branch not expanded in this Toronto-focused tree.
• PTyler BiggsTyler Biggs, forward prospect
• PTim ErixonTim Erixon, defenseman
• DConditional 2016 second-round pickBecame Kasper Bjorkqvist, selected 61st overall (final pick of round 2) by Pittsburgh at the 2016 NHL Entry DraftKasper Bjorkqvist (61st overall, 2016)Described as conditional at the time of the trade; exact condition wording not verified from a primary league document.

Toronto Maple Leafs receive

• PKasperi KapanenKasperi Kapanen, forward (Pittsburgh's 2014 first-round pick, 22nd overall)Re-traded back to Pittsburgh on 2020-08-25 (see linked trade). Later left Pittsburgh via waivers (to St. Louis, 2023) and reached Edmonton via waivers (2024); those were not trades.Traded again later in this tree
• PNick SpalingNick Spaling, centerTraded by Toronto to San Jose on Feb 22, 2016 (with Roman Polak) for San Jose's 2017 and 2018 second-round picks plus Raffi Torres. The 2017 pick from that deal is the one that later became Maxime Comtois in the Andersen trade below, an indirect branch of this tree.
• PScott HarringtonScott Harrington, defensemanTraded by Toronto to Columbus on June 25, 2016 for Kerby Rychel and a conditional 2017 fifth-round pick, a branch not expanded here.
• DPittsburgh's conditional 2016 first-round pickPick was 30th overall in 2016. Toronto re-routed it to Anaheim in the Frederik Andersen trade; Anaheim used it to select Sam Steel 30th overall. So the pick itself became Sam Steel (drafted by Anaheim).Sam Steel (30th overall, 2016, via Anaheim)Conditional at time of trade: had Pittsburgh missed the 2016 playoffs, Toronto would instead have received Pittsburgh's 2017 first-round pick (returning a 2017 second). Pittsburgh made the 2016 playoffs, so the 2016 first (30th overall) transferred. Re-traded by Toronto on 2016-06-20 (see linked trade).Traded again later in this tree
• DNew Jersey's 2016 third-round pick (held by Pittsburgh)Became J.D. (James) Greenway, defenseman, selected 72nd overall (11th pick of round 3) by Toronto at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Greenway never played in the NHL.J.D. Greenway (72nd overall, 2016)Originally New Jersey's 2016 third-round pick; Pittsburgh conveyed it to Toronto in this deal.

↳Kasperi Kapanen was moved in the next deal

Maple Leafs trade Kasperi Kapanen back to Penguins in six-player dealAug 25, 2020

Pittsburgh Penguins receive

• PKasperi KapanenKasperi Kapanen, forwardReturns to Pittsburgh, the team that drafted him 22nd overall in 2014 and traded him to Toronto in the 2015 Kessel deal. He later left Pittsburgh via waivers (claimed by St. Louis on 2023-02-25) and was claimed off waivers by Edmonton on 2024-11-19; those moves were waiver claims, not trades.
• RPontus AbergRights to Pontus Aberg, forward
• RJesper LindgrenRights to Jesper Lindgren, defenseman

Toronto Maple Leafs receive

• PEvan RodriguesEvan Rodrigues, forward
• PRFilip HallanderFilip Hallander, forward prospect (Pittsburgh's 2018 second-round pick)
• PDavid WarsofskyDavid Warsofsky, defenseman
• DPittsburgh's 2020 first-round pick (15th overall)Toronto selected Rodion Amirov, left wing, 15th overall at the 2020 NHL Entry DraftRodion Amirov (15th overall, 2020)Amirov was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2022 and died on 2023-08-14 at age 21; he never played an NHL game.

↳Pittsburgh's conditional 2016 first-round pick was moved in the next deal

Maple Leafs acquire Frederik Andersen from Ducks (re-routing the Kessel first-rounder)Jun 20, 2016

Anaheim Ducks receive

• D2016 first-round pick (30th overall) originally acquired from Pittsburgh in the Kessel tradeAnaheim selected Sam Steel, center, 30th overall at the 2016 NHL Entry DraftSam Steel (30th overall, 2016)This is the same pick Toronto received from Pittsburgh in the 2015-07-01 Kessel trade; here it is re-traded to Anaheim.
• DSan Jose's 2017 second-round pick (acquired by Toronto in the Feb 22, 2016 Spaling/Polak trade)Anaheim selected Maxime Comtois, left wing, 50th overall at the 2017 NHL Entry DraftMaxime Comtois (50th overall, 2017)Indirect Kessel-tree branch: this pick came to Toronto in the Feb 22, 2016 trade that sent Nick Spaling (himself acquired from Pittsburgh in the Kessel deal) to San Jose, then was re-routed to Anaheim in this Andersen package.

Toronto Maple Leafs receive

• PFrederik AndersenFrederik Andersen, goaltenderBecame Toronto's starting goaltender from 2016-17 through 2020-21.

VERIFICATION NOTES. (1) The task framed Kapanen as being 're-traded to Pittsburgh in 2020, then to Edmonton.' The 2020 return to Pittsburgh was indeed a trade (node kapanen-2020-08-25). His subsequent path to Edmonton was NOT a trade: Kapanen was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Blues from Pittsburgh on 2023-02-25, then claimed off waivers by the Edmonton Oilers from St. Louis on 2024-11-19. Waiver claims involve no exchanged assets, so they do not fit the trade schema and are recorded here rather than as trade nodes (sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasperi_Kapanen; nhl.com/oilers/news/release-oilers-claim-kasperi-kapanen-off-waivers). (2) Retained salary: Toronto retained $1.2M of Kessel's $8.0M AAV for the seven remaining seasons of his contract, so Kessel counted ~$6.8M against Pittsburgh's cap (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Kessel). (3) Conditions: the 2016 first-round pick Pittsburgh sent was conditional at the time of the trade; per contemporaneous reporting, had Pittsburgh missed the 2016 playoffs Toronto would instead have received Pittsburgh's 2017 first-round pick (with Toronto sending back a 2017 second). Pittsburgh qualified for the 2016 playoffs, so the 2016 first (30th overall) transferred. The two-tier condition is corroborated by contemporaneous reporting (Yahoo Puck Daddy, July 2015); the 2016 second Toronto conveyed (Bjorkqvist, 61st) was originally Pittsburgh's own pick, re-acquired by Toronto in the 2015 Daniel Winnik trade. (4) The 2016 second-round pick Toronto sent (which became Bjorkqvist, 61st overall) was also described as conditional; the exact condition wording was not verified from a primary source. (5) The third-round pick Toronto received originated as New Jersey's 2016 third-rounder, held by Pittsburgh at the time of the deal (source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_NHL_entry_draft footnote). (6) In the June 20, 2016 Frederik Andersen trade, Toronto also included the 2017 second-round pick that became Maxime Comtois (50th overall, 2017). That pick originated as San Jose's 2017 second-rounder, which Toronto acquired on Feb 22, 2016 by trading Nick Spaling (from the Kessel return) and Roman Polak to San Jose, so it is an indirect downstream branch of this tree rather than an unrelated asset.