After uneven start to season, Kasperi Kapanen fits in on, off ice with Penguins

In the aftermath of a meek, unique playoff flameout — bowing out in four games against the No. 24 overall seed in the 2020 Toronto “bubble” — there was a school of thought that there could be major changes for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

But with the franchise set to open its next postseason 8½ months later, the roster turnover at forward could be described more as a tweak. Of the 12 who dressed for Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens last August, nine are expected to be in the lineup for Game 1 against the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Putting aside the in-season acquisition of Jeff Carter, the only major center or wing added to the Penguins this offseason was Kasperi Kapanen.

His personality perhaps as big as his pedigree of being a first-round pick and son of a 12-year NHL veteran, Kapanen’s 2021 tenure with the Penguins got off to an uneven start. But by the time his first regular season with his new “old” team ended, it was clear why former general manager Jim Rutherford was so eager to re-acquire him.

“He’s been awesome,” teammate Bryan Rust said.

Especially at 5-on-5. Per naturalstattrick.com, among players who appeared in at least half of the Penguins’ games during the regular season, none averaged more points per game at 5-on-5 than Kapanen (0.63).

Not Sidney Crosby (0.49). Not Evgeni Malkin (0.52). Not Jake Guentzel (0.52) or Kris Letang (0.38).

Kapanen had 25 points at 5-on-5 in 40 regular-season games. It might come as a surprise that despite playing 15 fewer games than Crosby, Kapanen ended with as many 5-on-5 assists (16) as his superstar captain.

Kapanen was sixth on team in goals-for percentage (64.71%), second to Jared McCann in that metric among players who appeared in at least half of the Penguins’ games. That means that the Penguins scored almost twice as many goals as their opponents when Kapanen was on the ice.

Kasperi Kapanen leads the #Penguins in 5-on-5 points (14), plus/minus rating (plus-11) and 5-on-5 goals for that he’s been on the ice for (21). https://t.co/IxKOIqOBca

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) March 9, 2021

“You see the contributions he makes on the ice,” coach Mike Sullivan said this week. “He’s a real good player.”

It wasn’t necessarily that way early. Kapanen, whom the Penguins drafted 22nd overall in 2014 but dealt to the Leafs a year later, had only two goals in his first 11 games this season, five in his first 20. He was absorbing some of the blame — fairly or not — for the struggles of linemate Malkin.

Kapanen’s season reached its nadir when he was benched during the third period of a Feb. 20 game. To that point, Kapanen had seven points in 13 games, but the demotion by Sullivan served as something of a turning point.

He had a goal and assist in the next game and 14 points over the next 14 games, playing a significant role in turning around the seasons of Malkin and the Penguins at large.

“We are real happy with how ‘Kappy’ has assimilated into the group here,” Sullivan said. “He’s a popular guy amongst his teammates. He has good relationships with our coaching staff.”

First game back from injury and Kasperi Kapanen already has a multi-point night! pic.twitter.com/ziaVHt5y6N

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 23, 2021

Kapanen’s slow start can, in part, be written off to circumstance. Getting traded during the pandemic and while in Europe, Kapanen wasn’t afforded what might be a typical offseason of getting to know new teammates. Then, when Penguins camp began around the start of the new year, Kapanen was stuck in Finland because of visa issues.

“That was a tough process,” Kapanen said. “… It (stunk) coming late and kind of missing camp, meeting a lot of new guys and new teammates.

“But they took me in from Day 1 and were happy that I was there. And when I got it going and got into games I felt as if I’d been here for years.”

Despite the appearance in February of friction between Sullivan and Kapanen, Sullivan this week called Kapanen “a fun guy to be around.”

“He brings a lot of energy to the locker room,” Sullivan said. “I built a good relationship with him throughout the course of this season.

“It’s not easy when you miss training camp. You’re jumping on a moving train, so to speak, and we tried to help him to have success. I think ‘Kappy’ did a real good job of putting the work in and trying to make sure that he got up to speed as quickly as he could.”

Now entrenched as the right wing on a line with Jason Zucker and Malkin, Kapanen is a potential X-factor in the Penguins’ quest to reverse three years of postseason failures.

“He’s an awesome guy,” Rust said. “He’s come into the room with a good work ethic. He’s always laughing and having fun with the guys. He fits in great. Any time you have guys like that, it just helps your locker-room chemistry.”

Keep up with the Pittsburgh Penguins all season long.