Blues re-sign Kasperi Kapanen to one-year, $1 million contract

The St. Louis Blues re-signed forward Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year, $1 million contract, PuckPedia reported Monday.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old Finnish forward scored six goals and 16 assists for 22 points in 73 games with the Blues. Through nine NHL seasons, Kasperi scored 84 goals and 124 assists for 208 points in 460 career regular-season games with the Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kapanen produced his best season in his first full NHL season in 2018-19, scoring 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points with the Maple Leafs.

Drafted No. 22 overall by the Penguins in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, he was traded on this day nine years ago to the Maple Leafs in the Phil Kessel blockbuster, along with Nick Spaling, Scott Harrington and a 2016 third-round pick.

Before going to North America, Kapanen spent five seasons playing for the Kalevan Pallo (KalPa)’s organization in the Finnish men’s system. Ahead of his draft season, Kapanen scored seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 47 games.

Last season, the Blues went 43-33-6 with 92 points, fifth in the Central Division and six points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. After a 13-14-1 start to the season, the club fired head coach Craig Berube on Dec. 13, replacing him with Drew Bannister.

He would lead them to a 30-19-5 record with 65 points, the 12th-best points percentage in the league during that span. On May 7, the Blues removed the interim tag and signed Bannister to a two-year extension, officially naming him their head coach.

As a player, Bannister played 164 career games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers.