Blues claim Kapanen off waivers

The St. Louis Blues claimed forward Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

Kapanen has seven goals and 20 points through 43 contests this season. He is signed through 2023-24 at a cap hit of $3.2 million.

"It's a good pick up, he brings speed, has good skill," Blues head coach Craig Berube said. "I'm looking forward to getting him here, coaching him, and having him be part of the team."

Kapanen won't be available for Saturday's contest against his former team.

The 26-year-old had fallen out of favor in Pittsburgh, finding himself a healthy scratch and playing the lowest average ice time of his career since his rookie campaign.

"When a team doesn't live up to expectations, change is inevitable - that's part of it," head coach Mike Sullivan said Friday. "(Kapanen) is a really talented player. To a certain extent, it's on all of us because we didn't find a way to maximize his potential."

"The feeling was that last year was a bit of a down year and that he would bounce back," general manager Ron Hextall said. "He's still almost a half-a-point-a-game guy. I think he can be a productive player. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked here. Tough decisions have to be made along the way, and that's what this was."

Kapanen's best offensive year came in the shortened 2020-21 season when he tallied 11 goals and 30 points in 40 games. His lone 20-goal campaign came in 2018-19 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Penguins acquired Kapanen in August 2020 from the Maple Leafs along with Pontus Aberg and Jesper Lindgren in exchange for Filip Hallander, Evan Rodrigues, David Warsofsky, and a 2020 first-round pick that was used to draft Rodion Amirov.

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