ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues have placed veteran forward Kasperi Kapanen on waivers Monday, according to a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:
Kapanen, who the Blues claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 27, 2023 with one year remaining on a contract that paid him $3.2 million average annual value, was re-signed this past summer to a one-year, $1 million contract as depth; he had just one goal in 10 games this season and was a minus-6.
Teams have until 1 p.m. (CT) Tuesday to put in a claim on him, or else the Blues can assign him to Springfield of the American Hockey League.
With Kapanen going on waivers, could a potential return of Robert Thomas be on the horizon?
Thomas, who fractured his right ankle blocking a shot Oct. 22 against the Winnipeg Jets, was on a re-evaluation period up to six weeks. But Thomas began skating last week and accompanied the Blues (8-10-1) on its recent three-game road trip but didn’t play.
And with the Blues beat up on their blue line with injuries to Torey Krug (ankle), Nick Leddy (lower body), Philip Broberg (knee) and P.O. Joseph (lower body), they cannot afford at this time to expose someone on the blue line.
The Blues begin a two-game homestand against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday and there will be more clarification then what happens to Kapanen, who has 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists) in 106 games with the Blues.
