The Pittsburgh Penguins early struggles continue at home. The relationship between Kasperi Kapanen and the Pittsburgh Penguins has been a supremely interesting one ever since he was drafted in 2014. Many will remember, and be quick to point out, that Kapanen is one of the three first round picks made by the Penguins in the last decade. It wasn’t long after the 2014 NHL Draft that the Penguins sent Kapanen to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Phil Kessel. Pens fans know how the next few years went, Kessel becomes a fan favorite and helps bring back-to-back Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Kapanen is in Toronto making a name for himself as one of the NHL’s fastest players who can steadily contribute on offense. The Penguins never stopped keeping an eye on Kapanen, though, as they traded to bring him back into the fold before the start of the 2020-21 season. Thanks to some visa issues, it took Kapanen a little longer than expected to get to Pittsburgh; but when he did, he looked much improved from his time in Toronto. 30 points in 40 games, it looked like the Penguins had gotten their former first round pick back at just the right time for him to hit his stride. Maybe Kapanen took a little too much influence from his time north of the boarder, though, as Toronto-native rapper Drake says ‘nothing was the same.’ In 79 games last season, Kapanen was one of the only players to not suffer an injury or miss time with illness, but was clearly one of the most inconsistent. The bar was set extremely high for him in 2021-22, but he didn’t come close to sniffing it with 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points. Head coach Mike Sullivan wasn’t afraid to scratch Kapanen on multiple occasions and the mindset hasn’t changed in 2022-23. Kapanen has been scratched in four of the last five games begging the question of what do we do now? Well, it’s tough; general manager Ron Hextall rewarded Kapanen’s poor performance last year with a two-year contract worth $3.2 million annually. The easy answer would be to trade him, but that contract and lousy play rears its ugly head and you’d be hard pressed to find a team willing to take that on. Do the Penguins try and force Kapanen through waivers to send to the minors? That might be the smartest option. If he clears, he plays with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and maybe sharpens his game while opening some cap space at the NHL level. If a team takes him, then he’s out of the Penguins’ hands and again the cap opens up. That looks like a win-win, but is management willing to pull that kind of trigger? They might have to be as it doesn’t look like Sullivan has any plans of penciling Kapanen back into the lineup any time soon. Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins [http://insidethepenguins.com/]for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more! 3 Things to Watch: Penguins vs. Jets [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-3-things-watch-winnipeg-jets] Penguins Fourth Line Rejuvenated by Teddy Blueger's Return [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/pittsburgh-penguins-teddy-blueger-rejuvenated-foruth-line] Sidney Crosby Says Penguins Power Play Needs to be Difference Makers [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/pittsburgh-penguins-sidney-crosby-power-play-difference-makers] Tristan Jarry Should Take Blame for Penguins' Shortcomings [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/pens-talk/pittsburgh-penguins-tristan-jarry-blame-shortcomings] Penguins Power Play Beginning to Build Momentum [https://www.si.com/nhl/penguins/news/pittsburgh-penguins-power-play-building-momentum] * undefined * undefined
