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The St. Louis Blues placed right winger Kasperi Kapanen on NHL waivers Monday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The Blues signed Kapanen to a one-year, $1 million contract this past July after claiming him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins in February 2023. But in the 10 games he played so far this season, he’s only scored one goal. The 28-year-old also has a minus-six plus/minus rating.
Kapanen’s playing time has been limited under Blues coach Drew Bannister. In his last game against the Buffalo Sabres, he only took 11 shifts and played less than eight minutes. However, that wasn’t the lowest he had seen this season. Just two games before that against the Ottawa Senators, he had eight shifts and just 6:37 of ice time.
The rest of the NHL now has a chance to claim him off waivers for the second time in his career. If no one claims him by 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, he could be suiting up for St. Louis’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
The Penguins drafted Kapanen 22nd overall in 2014, but they traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 and reacquired him in 2020.
Toronto is where he had the peak of his career. Kapanen was a middle-six forward with the Leafs and had some respectable seasons, including a 20-goal, 44-point campaign in 2018-19.
He also last played in the AHL for the Toronto Marlies in 2017-18. He scored 12 goals and 24 points in 28 games at the time.
In 470 career NHL games, Kapanen has 85 goals, 124 assists and 209 points. He also has 38 games of playoff experience, with five goals and 13 points.
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