Maple Leafs' Kasperi Kapanen: Focusing on defense to secure role

Kapanen spent most of the summer focusing on the defensive side of his game to try to secure a role with the Maple Leafs this season, TSN.ca reports.

Kapanen returned to Toronto in late August to skate with teammates at informal workouts, where he was a standout for his first-on, last-off approach. "[I wanted to] just defensively be better," Kapanen said. "I know I'm going to be playing [penalty kill] and I want to be good at that." With both Leo Komarov and Matt Martin gone, Kapanen will serve a key backchecking and sandpaper role in the bottom six. His elite skating and ability to score goals will make him a fantasy target in deep formats.