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The Edmonton Oilers claimed Kasperi Kapanen off NHL waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old carries a $1-million cap hit for this season and comes to the Oilers after the Blues signed Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway away from Edmonton on offer sheets on Aug. 20.
The St. Louis Blues placed Kapanen on the waiver wire on Monday. The right winger had one goal in 10 games, as well as a plus/minus rating of minus-six.
The #Oilers have claimed forward Kasperi Kapanen via waivers from the St. Louis Blues.
The right-winger has recorded 85 goals & 124 assists in 470 career @NHL games. pic.twitter.com/xQ2EnF6AhU
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) November 19, 2024
Edmonton has been monitoring a few injuries lately, including defenseman Darnell Nurse and right winger Viktor Arvidsson. This forced Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch to get creative with his lineup. He went with 11 forwards and seven D-men for a couple of games before Nurse’s injury.
Now, with the Oilers claiming Kapanen after losing their last two games against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens, Knoblauch can fill in that missing piece on the right flank.
With the Blues this season, Kapanen averaged 11:19 of ice time. In his last game on Nov. 14 against the Buffalo Sabres, he was sent over the boards for 11 shifts and less than eight minutes of playing time.
However, the lowest ice time he’s seen this season was two games before that against the Ottawa Senators. He played eight shifts for a total of 6:37 time on ice.
In the past, Kapanen was a middle-six player, especially during his time with the Maple Leafs. His best season was in the 2018-19 campaign, where he scored a career-best 20 goals and 44 points.
He was consistent in his first few seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins after being traded there from Toronto in 2020. He put up back-to-back 30-plus-point seasons, with 11 goals in each. Kapanen has also averaged at least a minute of penalty-kill time per game in five seasons, including in 2023-24 with the Blues.
The Oilers made the difficult decision to part with Holloway and Broberg and not match the two-year offer sheets the Blues gave the RFAs almost three months ago. Since then, Holloway’s had four goals and eight points in 19 games, while Broberg had nine points in 12 games while averaging a career-high 19:34 of ice time before suffering a lower-body injury against the Maple Leafs on Nov. 2.
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News Summary:
- NHL Waivers: Edmonton Oilers Take Kasperi Kapanen From The Blues
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.