Oilers Make Interesting Waiver Claim On Former Maple Leaf

Say hello to the newest member of the Edmonton Oilers.

The team announced on Tuesday that they claimed 28-year-old right winger Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. Kapanen had one goal in 10 games with the Blues before being placed on waivers.

Kapanen has one main draw: speed. The son of former NHLer Sami Kapanen, the Finnish winger boasts 95th percentile speed per NHL EDGE, at a top speed of just over 23 mph. The Oilers have been noticeably slow this season since the departures of Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway, and Warren Foegele, at times forced to play the slow-moving Corey Perry on the second line.

Kapanen has gotten many opportunities throughout his career to play next to superstar centres: first as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs' young core, and then next to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. In both instances, it eventually became clear that despite his speed and decent shot (10.7 career shooting percentage), he isn't much of a play-driver in the top six.

That's not to say he's not useful, however. With 85 goals and 209 points in 470 career games, Kapanen can certainly chip in offensively. While he likely won't replicate his 20-goal 2018-19 season or score at a 60-point pace as he did in 2020-21, he adds a bit of scoring and a new dimension to a bottom six that's been slow and ineffective.

Kapanen also has experience as a penalty killer, which the Oilers will surely take advantage of. Anything to help their 31st-ranked penalty kill.

While it's unlikely Kapanen will be much of a needle mover in Edmonton, it's still a solid bet by the team. With a cap hit of just $1 million, it wouldn't take much for Kapanen to live up to his contract. At the very least, he'll be able to give the 39-year-old Perry a night off once in a while and chip in a goal or two on the fourth line.

The Oilers should be wary, however, of giving him too much time in the top six. With their recent scoring issues, they can't afford another passenger next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

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