Kapanen Fortunate, Grateful For Another Opportunity With St. Louis Blues

Forward, coming off subpar season, seems to have taken advantage of winning a job after signing one year, $1 million contract

ST. LOUIS -- Kasperi Kapanen will be the first to admit that 2023-24 was simply not good enough.

And in a contract year, it was not the ideal time to have a poor season.

The 28-year-old had just 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 73 games last season and it seemed like his days with the St. Louis Blues were, for all intents and purposes, appeared over, as was the two-year, $6.4 million contract he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But when the Blues and Kapanen reached agreement on a contract on July 1, it signified a couple of things. One, the Blues didn't completely close the door; two, Kapanen had limited, if any, options and wanted to stay with the team that took a flyer on him on waivers; and three, it would perhaps be one final opportunity for the No. 22 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft to prove he still belongs.

"I love being here and I love being a Blue and I take pride in that," Kapanen said. "That was my mindset negotiating that contract. I think this team's got a ton of potential, a lot of young guys, great energy. We've got some vets too that know how to win. That was my main focus and I think personally, it was to kind of learn from last year but to also kind of forget about it. Everybody knows it wasn't my best and I know that. I'd like to hold myself to a higher standard, but that's hockey and that's just sports in general. Sometimes you have bad years and you've got to forget about that and move on."

Which is exactly what Kapanen did. He returned to Finland over the summer to be with his closest allies, family and friends, and being able to lean on someone who understands the trials and tribulations of an NHL life more than anyone, his father and former NHLer Sami Kapanen, proved beneficial.

"If it bothers you like it bothered me a little bit, I think it's important to talk to somebody about it," Kapanen said. "I got a great guy that listens to me, my dad. Obviously he's been in the league for a while and knows the ups and downs of hockey and I just try to kind of talk to him and honestly, I was happy to spend some time with my family and my friends back home. You know it was a long summer, but I enjoyed every minute of it, tried to play some golf and just mentally, be fresh coming into camp and I feel great right now."

Kapanen has looked the part.

Arguably his best game as a Blue was Thursday in a 4-3 overtime preseason win against the Dallas Stars. With a goal and an assist, Kapanen not only was involved in the offense but had an impact, as he has the past couple games, on the game in general for the Blues.

His speed has never been an issue; it's always there. The finishing has been a challenge, and at times, wading in and out of games has also proved to be costly. But he skated on a line with Brayden Schenn and Mathieu Joseph on Thursday and the trio looked dangerous.

And with the camp competition fast and furious, there's been no choice for Kapanen, who was on the outside looking in when camp started, that fighting for a job had no other alternative.

"For sure. In general, I feel like there's so many good players on this team," Joseph said after the game Thursday. "At the end of the day, it's going to be the coach's decision but everyone is trying to play as best as they can and want to leave good impressions. There's a lot of new guys as well and everyone wants to leave a good impression from camp and I thought he played really well tonight."

Blues coach Drew Bannister has elevated Kapanen over, say, 2021 first-round pick Zack Bolduc because he's seen someone, even when the team game hasn't looked so hot, who is in the fight-for-your-life mode.

"I think when you look at what happened this summer and the competition that we brought in, 'Kapi' was a player that came in motivated, saw that our depth got a lot stronger, especially in our bottom six," Bannister said. "In all honestly, now I see a player that is fighting for his job. Quite honestly, he's took control of his job with the way he's played over the last two games. It's a player that was highly motivated that wanted to come in, wanted to make an impression, probably a player that was a little bit disappointed with himself with his season, how it went, the ups and downs and wants to come in and make a statement, and I've seen that over the last two games."

Kapanen has done this before: looked good, showed brilliant flashes, then has disappeared for long swaths of games. The challenge is to maintain the excellence and not allow it to fade.

"I think it's pointing out the things in his game that he does well and then him focusing on himself, his next shift, and then coming back when his name's called up, 'be the best 'Kapi' that I have to be,'" Bannister said. "He can be a hard player on himself as far as expectations go. I think it's up to our coaching staff to communicate what our expectations are for that player, which sometimes they're different what they think as a player. What we need for him to not only for him to have success, but more importantly for the team to have success."

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Could this be a short-term thing? Sure. When Brandon Saad, who will be away from the team when it opens the season Tuesday due to the birth of his third child, returns, Kapanen could very well be a place holder on that third line. But if he's able to maintain a consistent performance like the past two games, the coaching staff will have no choice but to keep the speedy winger in the lineup.

"I don't know if I've been in the league for too long, but certainly getting there," Kapanen said. "I've just been trying to fight for a spot. There's a ton of great players in this organization and just been trying to kind of find my way into the lineup. If I keep playing like that, I've got a good chance.

"I think just playing aggressive and using my speed. I think sometimes I start to overthink and wonder what's going to happen during my shift and I think I just kind of get into a rhythm and let my instincts do the work. When I play like that, I think it shows. I'm just using my feet and trying to shoot and be around the net. I got a lucky goal (Thursday), but I'll take it."

And that's why Kapanen, like teammate Jordan Binnington, said it's a good idea to live in the moment and don't look too far ahead, and certainly in this case, don't look back.

"I think that's a good mindset," Kapanen said. "My dad always told me never get too high, never get too low. Kind of find an even keel and just live in the moment. We're lucky to play in this league and play for this organization. Enjoy it while we can. 'Binner's a smart guy, so maybe I'll start to do that too."