ST. LOUIS -- With training camp less than two weeks away, the last thing the St. Louis Blues want to deal with is an off-ice issue.

But that's just what has been put on their plate after Finnish outlet yle.fi reported that forward Kasperi Kapanen is suspected of aggravated drunk driving in his native land of Finland.

Kapanen and Blues general manager Doug Armstrong each released a statement Thursday acknowledging the incident.

"Last month I made an unacceptable error in judgement and take full responsibility for my actions," Kapanen said. "I offer my apologies to my family, the Blues organization, my teammates and the fans. I understand the severity of my mistake and am committed to doing everything I can to earn back their trust."

"Today we became aware of the incident involving Kasperi and I have spoken with him and his agent," Armstrong said. "We are disappointed in his lapse of judgement and are entrusting him to make the necessary changes to avoid putting himself in a similar situation in the future."

According to the publication, the case was brought up in the district court of Pohjois-Savo on Aug. 23, and it is scheduled to be heard in the district court in February, 2024.

The outlet reported that "drunk driving is aggravated if the driver's blood alcohol concentration is at least 1.2 per thousand or has at least 0.53 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air during or after driving. For milder drunk driving, the limit is 0.5 per thousand or 0.22 milligrams.

"You are also guilty of aggravated drunk driving if you have used intoxicating substances in such a way that your ability to drive is noticeably impaired, and the circumstances are such that the crime is capable of causing a danger to the safety of another person."

Kapanen, 27, is heading into the final year of his contract after the Blues, who went 37-38-7 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18; he was projected to make a strong push to be in their top six after being picked up off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins after also representing his native country at the IIHF World Championships this past spring.

When the Kuopio, Finland native arrived from Pittsburgh, he put up 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 23 games and was set up to give himself a strong push to not only have a strong season but set himself up for a new contract should things go well.

With Armstrong's statement very clear, the Blues are going forward and feel it was a one-time incident and that Kapanen has learned his lesson on it.

Kapanen is in the final year of a $9.6 million ($3.2 million average annual value) and having this over his head doesn't bode well for him if true.