The Flyers Should Claim Kasperi Kapanen off Waivers, and Here’s Why

Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, the St. Louis Blues placed former first-round pick Kasperi Kapanen, who is signed to a one-year $ 1,000,000 deal that expires at the end of this season, on waivers with hopes that he will pass unscathed so that they could assign him to their American Hockey League affiliate the Springfield Thunderbirds.

But I think it would be wise for the Flyers to place a claim on him, and here’s why.

However, before we start, let me first say so we are all clear I know where you think this is going. Oh, Kasperi is Sami Kapanen’s son. Wouldn’t it be nice to have them together, seeing that Sami is working for the Flyers now in the position of both a Development Coach and a Pro Scout? But that is not my intent at all.

I assure you my intent to claim him is strictly business. Philadelphia is still in the middle of a rebuild and has had multiple players in recent weeks being rumored to either be shopped by the team or having other franchises calling about their possible availability.

Hearing that, I feel Kasperi could serve as an affordable fill-in who could play out the rest of this season if one or more of those rumored players end up being moved. But more on that in a minute.

Those rumored Flyers players include:

Scott Laughton

Scott’s name should come as no surprise here because it has been floating around the rumor mills for at least at the past couple of trade deadlines. For good reason, I might add. Scott, who is a former first-round pick, has also been the consummate professional who has done whatever has been asked of him since way back in 2012 when he was drafted. Whether that be to play center or wing, battle it out in the bottom six of the lineup, or play a more offensive role when penciled into the top six when injuries occur, Laughton has always been happy to oblige. In addition, Laughton is one of the team’s best penaltykillers and forecheckers.

With that being said, you can see why teams would want Scott and what kind of value he could bring to a playoff-caliber squad down the stretch.

As far as the Flyers go, while they do hold Scott in high esteem, his lack of point production looks like it could easily be replaced by newcomer Anthony Richard, who has shown he can be that same Swiss Army knife type of guy for a fraction of the three million dollar cap hit that Laughton is signed to for the rest of this season and the following one after that.

So, the Flyers might be willing to take someone up on an offer for him if they come with another first or second-round draft selection for this summer.

Joel Farabee/Bobby Brink

Either one of these guys leaving would sting a little more, considering Joel is a former first-round pick who is just 24 years old and finished last season with 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points. And Bobby is a former second-round pick who is just 23. But let’s not forget with the addition of the highly anticipated winger Matvei Michkov. The Flyers now have Owen Tippett, Travis Konecny, and Tyson Foerster, who, when put together, have this team’s top four wingers pretty locked up.

So, the position rankings have changed a little, and with that, both Joel’s and Bobby’s play has suffered a little, as evident by Joel totaling just three goals and five assists for eight points this season. And Bobby having scored just three goals and six assists for nine points this year, not to mention the fact that both are currently minus players.

Besides, throughout his short career, Farabee has shown himself to be very streaky. What I mean by that is when he is on, he is on and puts up points in bunches. But when he is off, he appears to become almost nonexistent out on the ice. And that’s not at all acceptable when you’re getting paid $5,000,000 a season until the year 2028. And Bobby is no longer on his rookie deal. He is now being paid $1,500,000 to bounce in and out of the lineup.

So, while I feel both are assets to this team, their position at the moment is a bit loaded with guys. And both might benefit from a trade that would give them the kind of consistent playing time on someone else’s top two lines. Not to mention, the Flyers might benefit from another high-end draft pick or an existing prospect that already is in a team’s system that maybe I don’t know can take a faceoff and score goals, seeing that it appears to be a pretty big need at the moment.

With that being said, both Farabee and Brink’s names have come up in recent chatter, with the most serious inquiries coming out of Minnesota, where the Wild, who are currently seated in second place in the Central Division, have some ground to make up on Winnipeg if they hope to compete for a shot at the division title not to mention separating themselves from the likes of the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche who are nipping at their heels.

This is why I would say if Minnesota were willing to part with either Riley Heidt or Hunter Haight in a deal, Philadelphia should at least be willing to listen.

(In addition, Boston has also been rumored to check in on Farabee’s availability)

Morgan Frost

A final name that would make sense in this conversation would be Morgan Frost. Morgan’s name has been involved in the rumor mill for quite some time now. This, of course, stems from him constantly being in Head Coach John Tortorella’s doghouse. An example of this would be him being forced to take in the last couple of games from the press box as he was labeled a healthy scratch. For good reason, I might add. For this season, Morgan has only been able to post one goal and five assists for a total of six points in 16 games played. In addition to that, he is averaging a -10 on the season and a -32 for his career. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that Philly has seen just about enough of Frost’s inconsistent play to justify moving on from him.

Thankfully, given the fact that he is still 25 years of age and playing on an expiring contract that pays him $2,100,000, he will still be a restricted free agent after the season, and the Flyers might be willing to retain some of if the right trade were to come along. And, just because it did not work out here doesn’t mean that teams aren’t still interested in this former multiple season 100+ point scorer in juniors.

Now, while I agree he may not be ideal, Kapanen, who is 6’1 and 194 pounds, comes with the aforementioned NHL Pedigree, over 470 games of NHL experience, and is a former 20-goal scorer. He is still just 28 years of age, can play on either side of the face-off dot, and has managed to stay a plus player for the entirety of his career.

Kasperi Kapanen

Again, Kasperi is on an expiring deal that only pays him $1,000,000, and if others mentioned above do get moved, Kapanen is more than capable of filling in for them. He still exhibits breakaway-type speed, and tallies highlight reel goals when given the opportunity. So, the likelihood of him being able to revitalize his career here if given consistent playing time with any of the remaining young core of players on this team is not out of the realm of possibilities.

I mean, hell, they’re paying Ryan Poehling nearly double that right now, and he has a big fat goose egg in the goal column, so why not take a chance on him? What’s the worst thing that could happen? He doesn’t produce? So, you put him back on waivers.

OK. Let’s be honest with the Flyers still looking to shed some unwanted players and their inflated salaries, Kapanen could allow the team to feel comfortable enough to make a deal consisting of one of the other players mentioned above as they did for Sean Walker at the deadline in order to garner some much-needed draft capital.