The 6-foot-1, 194-pound forward appeared in 79 games for Pittsburgh this past season, finishing with 11 goals, 21 assists and 32 points marking his fourth-consecutive season eclipsing the 30-point plateau. He also set career highs in games played, power-play points (5) and hits (110), and recorded his first career hat trick on Nov. 6, 2021 versus Minnesota.
The 25-year-old Kapanen was the Penguins' first-round draft pick in 2014 before being traded to Toronto as part of the Phil Kessel deal. He was re-acquired by Pittsburgh on August 20, 2020 after spending five seasons within the Toronto organization.
The Finnish forward's best season came in the 2018-19 campaign where he established career highs in goals (20), assists (24), points (44) and game-winning goals (3).
In 321 career regular-season NHL games, split between Pittsburgh and Toronto, Kapanen has 63 goals, 89 assists and 152 points. He has also appeared in 38 Stanley Cup Playoff games where he's picked up 13 points (5G-8A).
A native of Kuopio, Finland, Kapanen has represented his native country many times on the international stage, including winning a gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championship in Helsinki and a bronze medal at the 2013 World Under-18 Championship in Sochi, Russia.
Originally drafted by Pittsburgh 22nd overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, Kapanen played parts of three seasons with KalPa of Liiga, Finland's top professional league, accumulating 39 points (22G-17A) in 101 games. While with KalPa, he was teammates with his father, long-time NHL player Sami Kapanen, and current Penguins goaltending coach Andy Chiodo.
