ST. LOUIS – Kasperi Kapanen, who joined the St. Louis Blues late last season, has been suspected of aggravated drunk driving in Finland.
According to a report published Thursday by Finland’s national broadcasting company Yle, a case that linked Kapanen to drunk driving was brought to the attention of the district court of Pohjois-Savo last month. It’s expected to be reviewed in February 2024.
Additional details pertaining to the situation are limited. However, the St. Louis Blues and Kapanen have confirmed various details around the report, according to reports from The Athletic and St. Louis Post Dispatch.
“I made an unacceptable error in judgement and take full responsibility for my actions. I offer my apologies to my family, the Blues organization, my teammates and fans. I understand the severity of my mistake and am committed to doing everything I can to earn back trust,” said Kapenen in a statement sent to The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford and other media members.
Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong also released this statement to Rutherford:
“Today we became aware of the incident involving Kasperi and I have spoken with him and his agent. We are disappointed in his lapse of judgement and are entrusting him to make the necessary changes to avoid putting himself in a similar situation in the future.”
Yle says in its report, via Google translate, “Drunk driving is aggravated if the driver’s blood alcohol concentration is at least 1.2 per thousand or he has at least 0.53 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air during or after driving.”
The NHL, nor the Blues, have disclosed if Kapanen will be suspended or fined over the case. The Blues training camp is set to begin Sept. 21 and the season opener is set for Oct. 12.
Kapanen, 27, has one year remaining in a contract the Blues inherited when they claimed him off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins in February. He had eight goals and 14 points in 23 games with the Blues last season.