Kapanen has spent the last five seasons in the Maple Leafs organization, where the forward matured and grew a lot as a player compared to when the Penguins first drafted him.
At the time, Kapanen was seen as a skilled winger whose scoring ability and skating were his biggest strengths. And while that's definitely not a bad thing, his overall game needed a lot more work in order for him to make it at the NHL level.
"I think when I was drafted, I was more one-dimensional," Kapanen said. "I loved to play offense and with the puck. Everything else was kind of lacking for me, especially to make that hop to the NHL. I got traded to Toronto and they put me through the AHL process, which looking back on, I'm now grateful for."
Kapanen played the majority of his first three seasons with the AHL's Marlies, where he learned the importance of being a two-way player. That helped him earn a full-time spot with the NHL's Maple Leafs in 2018-19, where not only did he bring those defensive elements of his game that he had worked so hard to add - Kapanen also scored a career-high 20 goals.
"I'm very grateful that I played with the Marlies for such a long time, so I know how to defend better, which I need to do and still need to be working on," Kapanen said. "I've been playing the penalty kill for the last three years. I've been more physical and I've been trying to be more gritty. I'm just more of an all-around player and a person, too. I'm older now than I was back then, so a lot has changed, for sure."
Kapanen still loves to score goals - "Who doesn't?" he posited - along with making plays. But at the same time, he wants to forecheck and be physical and be, as he put it, "that guy to get in your face a little bit and knock you off your game."
That was evident when the Penguins and Maple Leafs last met back in February, when Kapanen took exception to a hit on a teammate by Patric Hornqvist and ended up fighting Jared McCann.
Rutherford said that style of play makes Kapanen someone who can improve Pittsburgh's top-six, which means playing alongside either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
"It's a very positive thing," Kapanen said. "The fact that they think I can be in one of those two spots is a huge honor for me, obviously playing with one of the two better hockey players in the world. I talked to Jim, I talked to Mike (Sullivan) and they're excited to have me, too. I feel like I fit in that role very well, and we'll see what the future holds for the team."
Instagram from @kasperikapanen1: It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to play for the Leafs. I will forever be grateful for the experience and for my teammates. That being said I could not be more excited and ready to be a Penguin again. I can't wait to go back to where it all began. Cheers everyone, see you soon Pitt.
Kapanen is coming off a season that he called a bit of a sophomore slump, finishing with 13 goals in 69 games - which makes him more motivated than ever to rediscover his best game in an organization he's familiar with.
"I'm familiar with pretty much the whole team and I know who everybody is," said Kapanen, who spent time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the end of the 2014-15 season alongside current Penguins like Bryan Rust, Brian Dumoulin, Conor Sheary and Matt Murray.
"I have a lot of friends on that team. It makes it a whole lot easier than going to a new team and a new city that I'm not familiar with. Lucky in a way for me. l'm very excited, my family is excited, my girlfriend and everybody here is excited for me. Just ready to get back to work."
