PITTSBURGH — Even judging by his own standard of scathing self-assessments, Kasperi Kapanen offered up a doozy this week when discussing the struggles he experienced during the 2021-22 regular season.
"I wasn't really enjoying hockey for the majority of the year," Kapanen said after Penguins practice on Tuesday at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Kapanen had plenty of reasons to feel frustrated. After amassing 11 goals and 30 points in 40 games during the 2020-21 campaign, Kapanen produced that same number of goals and just two more points in 79 contests a year ago.
As the Penguins turn their attention to opening night on Thursday against the Coyotes, one fortunate occurrence for them is that Kapanen, signed this offseason to a two-year deal carrying the same $3.2 million average annual value of his previous one, seems to be having considerably more fun this preseason.
Kapanen also appears to have found a semi-regular home on Jeff Carter's right wing and as a member of the Penguins penalty kill, something he relied on in Toronto to help ignite his offensive game.
When Kapanen scored 20 goals and racked up 44 points — both career-highs — in 78 games with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19, he was a regular part of Toronto's PK, logging 1:37 of short-handed ice time per game.
Perhaps to get him more involved, or up the 26-year-old's confidence, the Penguins appear poised to use Kapanen in a similar capacity, one that should take advantage of his skating and willingness to play a dirtier game.
"I love it," Kapanen said. "I think with my speed, I can be a threat out there."
Aside from his new/old role on the PK, Kapanen has loved playing next to Carter, a veteran player he originally met when he was 11 years old. That's when Kasperi's father, Sami, played with Carter — now 37 — in Philadelphia.
After reuniting in Pittsburgh, Carter has looked after Kapanen. His care and leadership helped last season as Kapanen struggled mightily — with his career-low 8.5% shooting percentage, sure, but also going to key areas of the rink and hanging onto pucks long enough to make plays.
"Kappy and I have a really good relationship," Carter said. "It's kind of unique, but we get along real well on and off the ice. With his skill set, if we can really find our groove, I think we could be a big help to this team. We need depth scoring, and helping out the big guys is kind of our role."
The funny thing about Kapanen's 2021-22 season is that he did occasionally drive quality play. For example, his rate of expected goals during five-on-five situations was 39.56, better than the previous season and throughout his career trailing only what he produced in 2018-19 (47.89).
Kapanen was on the ice when scoring chances were generated. The issue was finishing and being around the puck at key times. That didn't happen nearly as often as Kapanen would like, hence why he grew so frustrated on multiple occasions, often ripping himself and spending time as a healthy scratch.
It was enough that Kapanen — who did improve in the postseason — said he took extra time to decompress this summer and forget about hockey.
Yet throughout the preseason, teammates have insisted that Kapanen looks and sounds different. He's more relaxed, comfortable with his surroundings and focused on the process that often leads to success.
"He's flying out there and making plays," Bryan Rust said. "I'm excited to see what he's gonna do this year."
Jason Zucker knows frustration well. Shoot, he's been injured more than anyone on this current Penguins team and could barely skate last year. The veteran winger also described Kapanen as a "gamebreaker" and someone who can add offensive punch.
"He can change a game in a matter of minutes," Zucker said. "We're going to rely on him to do that."
The penalty kill may help unlock that, and it's something that helped Rust earlier in his career, before his offensive game developed its current polish. Playing a man down helped Rust think more about skating and reading plays, two things Kapanen does well.
Then, it snowballed.
"Once you're successful at one thing, it starts getting in your head, 'I can do this. I can do that,' " Rust said. "You get more confidence. Being a good penalty killer is going to help get that going for him."
Time will tell whether that happens for Kapanen during the regular season, but the results have been promising thus far. He had one shot on goal and two hits during a 3-2 victory over Detroit on Monday.
Two days earlier, Kapanen had an assist and was a plus-1 in Pittsburgh's 3-1 loss at Buffalo, logging 22:00 of ice time. During Friday's 7-1 dismantling of the Sabres, Kapanen was a plus-2, picked up an assist, had two shots on goal and dished out three hits.
Kapanen has been involved, noticeable and confidence, seemingly poised to turn back the clock to 2018-19.
"I just kind of had to forget the year," Kapanen said. "It was a bad year, probably the worst I've had so far. I'm just trying to get back to my roots and being the player that I used to be."
