Roughly one day ago, the Edmonton Oilers managed to snap up an offer by the St. Louis Blues as both teams grapple with less than ideal records approaching the league's Thanksgiving break. Right winger Kasperi Kapanen was dealt to Edmonton, finally answering a question many Blues fans had- would they keep the underdeveloped 28-year-old Finn or cut him loose? The answer was, honestly and inevitably, the latter.
Kapanen's time in St. Louis was...underwhelming to say the least. Across three seasons, he played in just 106 total games, scoring 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points. This was also his third different team after being dealt from the Pittsburgh Penguins midway through the 2022/23 season, where he'd scored the same amount as he did in St. Louis.
Kapanen's highest single season goal total was 20 during the 2018/19 season, which ended up being his second to last wearing a Maple Leafs sweater. He'd also play in considerably less games every season afterwards, only twice nearly reaching a full 82 game season, the last of which came in 2023/24. This season hasn't been much different for Kapanen, as he has just one goal in 10 games so far.
Kapanen does join a team that could help him unearth his full potential, as when he played with Toronto and Pittsburgh, both had talent that either hadn't fully reached their own potential or had some that had better days behind them. Sure, with the Leafs, Kapanen could've developed a little with the other Toronto stars, but that was the problem- he was basically a little fish in a big pond.
Just looking over the stats for guys like Auston Matthews, William Nylander and other similarly aged and similarly positioned players could also result in Kapanen being completely overlooked or not looked at at all. And in Pittsburgh, their offensive weapons were beginning to really show their age- Sidney Crosby was basically in his mid 30s when Kapanen was there, and that was before the Pens lost other stars like Jake Guentzel and Reilly Smith to free agency.
Hopefully, Kapanen can have a successful stint in Edmonton, as there shouldn't be as many glory hogs on the Oilers' current roster as teams like Toronto. Of course, this kind of deal could also inevitably backfire, given it's kind of out of the blue, and Kapanen's career may stay where it's been the last few seasons without much of any kind of improvement to show, which would be very disappointing for a guy that may only have a few years and change left in his career that has been average at best and mediocre at worst.
The new contract puts Kapanen in Edmonton for what will be a solid straight $1 million a year deal as well, though how many years he wears an Oilers sweater is still yet to be determined.