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Kasperi Kapanen

Morning Notes: Walsh, Penguins, Pegula

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According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the NHLPA is expected to name Marty Walsh as its next executive director. The sitting U.S. Secretary of Labor will be installed after Tuesday’s presidential address, though a formal executive board vote is still required. Seravalli reports it is expected to be a unanimous approval for Walsh, a former Boston mayor who was only included in the search a few weeks ago.

Here are some more notes from around the league:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins will have Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Archibald available this evening, but Tristan Jarry isn’t quite ready to return. Casey DeSmith will get the start, his 23rd appearance of the season. The 31-year-old netminder has a .901 save percentage on the year and is 7-10-4, proving exactly why the Penguins need Jarry back as soon as possible (and why goaltending is an area of concern as they head toward the trade deadline). Getting Kapanen, who hasn’t played since January 18, back to playing at a high level would also be huge for Pittsburgh; the 26-year-old has just six goals and 17 points through 35 games this season.
  • Regardless of what you think of the Buffalo Sabres ownership, it is hard to read professional tennis player Jessica Pegula’s heartfelt piece in the Players’ Tribune this morning, which revealed that her mother has been battling serious health issues since last summer. Kim Pegula, president and co-owner of the Sabres (and Jessica’s mother), suffered cardiac arrest in June 2022, leading to a long stay in the hospital. She is now on the road to recovery.

Snapshots: Schultz, Bortuzzo, Kapanen

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The Kraken have been without Justin Schultz for the last week and it appears they’ll be missing him a little longer as team reporter Bob Condor mentions that the defenseman is now listed as being out week to week.  Schultz has done well in his first season with Seattle, notching 24 points in 42 games so far, already surpassing his point total from a year ago in 32 fewer contests.  With the All-Star break upcoming, it appears the earliest he’ll be able to return is February 5th.  For the time being, the team is keeping Schultz on the active roster.  If they need to open up a roster spot, they’ll be able to place him on injured reserve retroactively to the date of injury which means he could be activated at any time.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo could return at some point on their current road trip, relays NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link). The veteran has missed the last two-and-a-half weeks with a lower-body injury sustained against Montreal.  Bortuzzo doesn’t produce much offensively – he has just one point in 30 games this season – but is still a serviceable stay-at-home option on their third pairing.  Louis has an open roster spot at the moment so whenever he is eligible to be activated, they won’t need to make room for him.
  • Penguins winger Kasperi Kapanen returned to practice today in a non-contact jersey, notes Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He has been out for the last week with an undisclosed injury and while the 26-year-old declined to go into specifics, he did call it “something that I didn’t expect to turn into something bigger”.  Kapanen had been scuffling a bit offensively before the injury, notching just a single goal in his last 19 games but he still has 17 points in 35 appearances this season despite logging less than 12 minutes a night.

Kris Letang Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have their defensive leader back, activating Kris Letang from injured reserve. The veteran hasn’t played since December as he dealt with an injury and the death of his father.

To make room, the team has moved Jan Rutta to long-term injured reserve and Kasperi Kapanen to regular injured reserve. Both moves are retroactive, meaning they can be activated whenever ready to return.

Letang, 35, has been in and out of the lineup all season, playing just 29 games to this point. Incredibly, his 16 points during those games still lead all Penguins defenders, showing just how important he is to the group. While his average ice time is slightly down, Letang still sees more than 24 minutes a night playing in all situations.

The Penguins are welcoming in Florida this evening, as they try to get things rolling in the right direction. The 23-15-8 record they have so far is only good enough for fifth in the Metropolitan Division, though they do have some games in hand on Washington, who are immediately ahead of them.

Without Letang, the race for the playoffs would be incredibly difficult. Even at his age, he completely changes the look of the Pittsburgh defense corps and allows the others to fit into a more comfortable spot in the lineup. While there may be some rust, his return is a welcome one for Penguins fans.

Kasperi Kapanen Out Week-To-Week

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The nightmare season for Kasperi Kapanen continues. The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that Kapanen will be out on a week-to-week basis with a lower-body injury.

It’s brutal timing for the 26-year-old, as Kapanen had just started to find a consistent level of play. Through healthy scratches, benchings, and demotions, he has 17 points in 35 games so far. While only one of those points had come in his last seven appearances, there were some encouraging signs that he could fit into a bottom-six role for the rest of the season.

Now, with a weeks-long injury, he’s back to square one. The Penguins gave Kapanen a two-year, $6.4MM contract in the offseason when many wondered whether he would even get a qualifying offer. The deal now looks like one of the worst on the team, with Pittsburgh desperate for cap space to make a deadline addition.

An injury of this length could be a worst-case scenario. It might not be long enough to justify long-term injured reserve (and even if it is, they’ll have to keep room open for his activation), but keeps him off the active roster as the deadline approaches.

For other injury updates, the head coach Mike Sullivan called Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling game-time decisions, while Kris Letang, Josh Archibald, and Jan Rutta are not yet ready to return.

East Notes: Kapanen, Hathaway, Maroon, Okposo

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Kasperi Kapanen’s second stint with the Penguins has been bumpy, to put it lightly.  He impressed in 2020-21 with 30 points in 40 games and it looked like he had finally become a consistent top-six winger.  However, his per-game production slipped last year to the point where there were questions about whether or not he’d be tendered last summer by Pittsburgh.  He ultimately was, inking a two-year, $6.4MM contract but has slid down the depth chart to the point where he has recently been a healthy scratch.

Accordingly, Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now argues that the time has come for the Penguins to part ways with the 26-year-old.  Playing a limited role (or not playing at all) isn’t going to help his trade value so he suggests that waiving him is the next best course of action (assuming there isn’t a viable trade out there).  If he clears, he’d get an opportunity to play a bigger role and perhaps rediscover his scoring touch while giving Pittsburgh a bit of cap flexibility ($1.125MM of his AAV would come off).  At this point, with the alternatives being having him struggle or in the press box, it’s an option that GM Ron Hextall might be considering.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Department of Player Safety announced that they’ve fined Capitals winger Garnet Hathaway $4,054 and Lightning winger Patrick Maroon $2,703 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Those amounts, which work out to 50% of their daily pay, are the maximum permitted in the CBA.  The incident occurred during last night’s game during a review of the check to the head from Nicolas Aube-Kubel on Cal Foote; both players received a five-minute major and a ten-minute misconduct on the play.
  • Sabres winger Kyle Okposo will miss tonight’s game against Boston, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The captain is dealing with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.  While the 34-year-old only has one goal in the early going, he’s tied for third on Buffalo with eight assists through 14 games.  Jack Quinn will return to the lineup in Okposo’s place after being a healthy scratch on Thursday night.

2022 Arbitration Tracker

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The dates for the upcoming arbitration hearings have been set, with the first one scheduled for July 27. Hearings will continue through August 11 this year, with that being the busiest day of the schedule. It is important to note that the CBA agreement in 2020 changed the rules for arbitration so that once a hearing begins, teams are no longer allowed to negotiate with the player in question.

The full schedule is:

July 27
Isac Lundestrom (Anaheim Ducks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.8MM AAV

July 29
Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 1 year, $3.0MM

July 30
Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh Penguins) – Settled: 2 years, $3.2MM AAV
Matthew Phillips (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 1 year, $750K AAV (two-way contract)

August 1
Mathieu Joseph (Ottawa Senators) – Settled: 3 years, $2.95MM AAV
Steven Lorentz (San Jose Sharks) – Settled: 2 years, $1.05MM AAV

August 2
Yakov Trenin (Nashville Predators) – Awarded: 2 years, $1.7MM AAV

August 3
Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $5.45MM AAV

August 5
Andrew Mangiapane (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 3 years, $5.8MM AAV

August 6
Miles Wood (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 1 year, $3.2MM AAV

August 7
Kailer Yamamoto (Edmonton Oilers) – Settled: 2 years, $3.1MM AAV

August 8
Ethan Bear (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $2.2MM
Lawson Crouse (Arizona Coyotes) – Settled: 5 years, $4.3MM AAV
Zack MacEwen (Philadelphia Flyers) – Settled: 1 year, $925K

August 9
Maxime Lajoie (Carolina Hurricanes) – Settled: 1 year, $750K (two-way contract)

August 10
Keegan Kolesar (Vegas Golden Knights) – Settled: 3 years, $1.4MM AAV
Oliver Kylington (Calgary Flames) – Settled: 2 years, $2.5MM AAV

August 11
Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets) – Settled: 3 years, $2.167MM AAV
Morgan Geekie (Seattle Kraken) – Settled: 1 year, $1.4MM AAV
Tyce Thompson (New Jersey Devils) – Settled: 2 years, $762.5K AAV (partial two-way)
Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) – Settled: 8 years, $9.5MM AAV
Jake Walman (Detroit Red Wings) – Settled: 1 year, $1.05MM
Pavel Zacha (Boston Bruins) – Settled: 1 year, $3.5MM

Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Kasperi Kapanen

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have avoided arbitration with Kasperi Kapanen, as PuckPedia reports the two sides have agreed to a two-year deal worth a total of $6.4MM. Kapanen was one of 24 players to file for salary arbitration earlier this month but will no longer need his hearing, which had yet to be scheduled.

Interestingly enough, because of the way his previous contract was designed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kapanen’s qualifying offer this summer only needed to be $840K. That’s despite a $3.2MM cap hit, the same number he will come in at on this new deal. The arbitration process would have likely yielded a deal similar to this, though the Penguins would have been able to decide whether it was a one or two-year award.

Still, there will be some who are disappointed that Kapanen remains at the same cap hit after another disappointing season. The 25-year-old has such obvious talent, with blinding speed, good puck skills, and a strong shot, but it has rarely resulted in a consistent performance. In 79 games this season he scored just 11 goals and 32 points, barely equaling his totals from 2020-21, when he played in just 40 games.

That has been the story of his career so far, and one that makes this deal relatively risky for the Penguins. Pittsburgh is in a win-now mode as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang approach the end of their careers, making $3.2MM in cap space even more valuable than it would be in some markets. If Kapanen plays the way he did in 2021-22, it will be a waste of precious resources.

Still, there is that tantalizing, immense upside with the speedster. During his first year (back) with the Penguins, that aforementioned shortened 2021-22 campaign, he scored at a 61-point pace. That kind of production would actually bring quite a bit of surplus value to the table and give Pittsburgh another legitimate force in the top nine.

As this will take him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2024, there is also a possibility that the Penguins intend to trade Kapanen at some point. The deal did not buy out a single UFA year, meaning he’s now scheduled to reach the market at the age of 27 (though he will be turning 28 just a few weeks into that year’s free agent period).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

24 Players Elect Salary Arbitration

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The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) announced that 24 players have filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the deadline for which came this afternoon. This list is not necessarily the final and complete list of players headed for arbitration, with clubs now eligible to elect salary arbitration until tomorrow, July 18th at 5:00 pm ET.

Mason Appleton (WPG)

Ethan Bear (CAR)

Jesper Bratt (NJD)

Lawson Crouse (ARI)

Morgan Geekie (SEA)

Mathieu Joseph (OTT)

Kaapo Kahkonen (SJS)

Kasperi Kapanen (PIT)

Keegan Kolesar (VGK)

Oliver Kylington (CGY)

Maxime Lajoie (CAR)

Steven Lorentz (SJS)

Isac Lundestrom (ANA)

Zack MacEwen (PHI)

Niko Mikkola (STL)

Andrew Mangiapane (CGY)

Matthew Phillips (CGY)

Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM)

Tyce Thompson (NJD)

Yakov Trenin (NSH)

Vitek Vanecek (NJD)

Jake Walman (DET)

Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)

Pavel Zacha (BOS)

Notably out of this list, Mikkola had previously filed for arbitration, but the two sides were able to settle on a one-year, $1.9MM contract that will leave the defenseman an UFA after next season.

A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.

Snapshots: Kapanen, Blackhawks, Point

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It was a tough year for Penguins winger Kasperi Kapanen.  He had just 11 goals in 79 games and managed just two more points than he had in 2020-21 despite playing in 39 fewer contests.  However, Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now posits that the 25-year-old may have done enough in the playoffs to convince management to give him one more chance instead of non-tendering him this summer.  Kapanen is owed a $3.2MM qualifying offer and also has arbitration eligibility which complicates things as he’s unlikely to be awarded a deal that’s above the walkaway threshold.  Molinari suggests Pittsburgh try to offer him a deal with a reduced salary in the hopes that Kapanen opts for that over testing the open market with a non-tender in July.  If they can’t agree on a new deal, GM Ron Hextall is going to have a big decision on his hands on whether or not to qualify him.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Blackhawks don’t have a first-round pick this year with theirs going to Columbus as part of the Seth Jones trade but GM Kyle Davidson told NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis that acquiring a first-round is “something I’m definitely interested in”. Chicago has committed to a rebuilding process but their challenge might be finding a player they’re willing to trade that is talented enough to command that strong of a return.  Brandon Hagel went for two first-rounders at the trade deadline but those are in the 2023 and 2024 drafts.
  • Tampa Bay has ruled out Brayden Point for Sunday’s game against Florida, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). The center has yet to play in the second round after suffering a lower-body injury in the final game of their series against Toronto.  Despite missing their top pivot, the Lightning find themselves in good shape with a 2-0 series lead heading into back-to-back games at home on Sunday and Monday.

Snapshots: Kraken, Trade Bait, Senators

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The Seattle Kraken are “open for business” in regards to being a third-party broker for trade deadline deals or even a parachute for bad contracts, according to general manager Ron Francis. Francis spoke with Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic and was quite clear that he has already told every other GM in the league that they are willing to spend cap space and money to acquire other assets.

Interestingly enough, he also explained, among other things, that the team is planning on being aggressive again in free agency this summer. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet happened to include a note in today’s 32 Thoughts column that he sees John Klingberg as a good fit for Seattle in the offseason when the veteran defenseman hits unrestricted free agency.

  • If there is a theme to the changes on Frank Seravalli’s trade targets list for Daily Faceoff, it’s young forwards. Filip Zadina, Alexandre Texier, and Kasperi Kapanen all find themselves among the additions, with various reasons for their inclusion. Zadina especially is an interesting one, as he jumps directly to No. 12 on the list of the most likely pieces dealt, despite being on a team that would traditionally be holding onto young assets. The 22-year-old simply hasn’t been successful enough at the NHL level to this point, scoring just 22 goals and 54 points in 138 career games.
  • The Ottawa Senators have opened extension talks with Nick Paul, but David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweets that those discussions haven’t progressed very far. The Paul situation is an odd one, given the fact that an extension with Ottawa shouldn’t be that complicated for a player with a career-high of 20 points, and will certainly conjure memories for Senators fans of the situations Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, and Erik Karlsson faced before ultimately being traded out of town.

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