The Penguins found a way to avoid losing Jared McCann to the Seattle Kraken in the upcoming expansion draft.

They traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On Saturday, McCann was dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward prospect Filip Hallander, a former draft pick of the Penguins, and a seventh-round pick in the 2023 draft.

McCann, 25, appeared in 43 games last season and had 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists). After the trade-deadline acquisition of Jeff Carter on April 12, McCann and Carter established chemistry while skating on the third line.

During the postseason, McCann was limited to an assist in six games.

Entering the final year of a two-year contract, McCann has a salary cap hit of $2.94 million.

After the trade, the Penguins have $3,946,795 of salary cap space against a ceiling of $81.5 million, according to Cap Friendly.

Hallander, 21, spent all of the 2020-21 campaign with Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League. In 51 games, he had 24 points (13 points, 11 assists).

Entering the second-year of a three-year entry-level contract he signed with the Penguins in 2018, the left-handed Hallander returns to the organization after being dealt to the Maple Leafs on Aug. 25, 2020, as part of a multiplayer trade that led to Kasperi Kapanen being dealt to the Penguins.

Hallander (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) was the Penguins’ second-round pick in the 2018 draft (No. 58 overall). He automatically becomes one of the franchise’s better prospects in what admittedly is a shallow pool of candidates.

As a player on an entry-level contract, Hallander is exempt from being selected in the expansion draft.

This trade was completed before Saturday’s roster freeze went into effect for the expansion draft. NHL teams other than the Vegas Golden Knights are scheduled to submit their list of protected players for the draft by 5 p.m. Saturday. Those lists are slated to be revealed by the NHL on Sunday in advance of Wednesday’s expansion draft.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)