Kasperi Kapanen was claimed by the St. Louis Blues off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
“It’s a good pickup, brings speed, has good skill,” Blues coach Craig Berube said prior to St. Louis playing Pittsburgh at Enterprise Center on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, SN360, SNW). “Looking forward to getting him here, coaching him and having him be part of the team.”
Kapanen had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 43 games for the Penguins this season. The 26-year-old forward was placed on waivers by the Penguins on Friday, and did not practice after going without a goal for the 14th time in 15 games Thursday, a 7-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
He has 172 points (70 goals, 102 assists) in 364 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Penguins.
“I just think when a team doesn’t live up to expectations, as ours has as of late, I think change is inevitable,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Friday. “I’m sure that’s a part of it. ‘Kappy’ 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 Blues traded forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defenseman Niko Mikkola to the New York Rangers on Feb. 9 for forward Sammy Blais, defenseman prospect Hunter Skinner, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 Draft on Feb. 9. They then traded forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to the Maple Leafs in a three-team trade that also included the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 18.
St. Louis (26-28-4) is 13 points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Blues had 109 points and advanced to the Western Conference Second Round last season.
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