I get that many Toronto fans don't think Vatanen is worth Kapanen or Brown.
Fine, but here's my question - if Toronto wants to upgrade its defense (which is what we're being told), how do they do that without giving up something valuable, like Kapanen or Brown? Even if its not for Vats, aren't Kapenen and Brown the most likely trade options? What else are you offering.
1. I suppose you can sign Shattenkirk - more more expensive and lots of term, that eventually creates cap issues when you need to resign your young players. If Kapanen or Brown are as good as claimed, can you keep them as well as the big 3 given the salary cap?
2. Trade JVR or Bozak? An option, but what do they bring back? Both are good players but with only one year left on their deals, what kind of d-men does they get in return? Maybe a guy with a similar deal? Is that type of deal consistent with Toronto's rebuild, or do they want a 25 year old dman with term (like Vats)? I don't think JVR/Bozak get you someone like Vats (a top 4 defensemen with a good contract for 3 more years). Kadri does but I'm assuming you want to keep him as part of your core (or at least value him more than Brown/Kapanen).
3. Wait for prospects in your pipeline? Not sure what you have - maybe that's an option. But that doesn't help you next year or probably the year after.
Bottom line - Toronto is the opposite of the Ducks. Ducks have lots of good young defenseman and Toronto has young top lelvel forwards. In a perfect world, the ducks would keep all of their defensemen but that's not an option (and likewise for Toronto with their forwards). Even if there were not an expansion draft, the ducks would have been looking to move defensemen (Vats, or if they couldn't sign him, fowler) to balance their roster and salary cap. Yes, the ducks have a more immediate need to make a move (due to expansion draft), but it boils down to trading something you value but have lots of for something you need.
Which brings me back to my original question - how does Toronto improve its D without giving up something of value (i.e., Kapanen or Brown)?