CRANBERRY TWP, PA (93.7 The Fan) – The first move before the trade deadline a week from Friday, the Pens waived forward Kasperi Kapanen.
"When a team doesn't live up to expectations as ours has as of late, I think change is inevitable," said Pens head coach Mike Sullivan Friday after practice. "I'm sure that's part of it."
Inconsistent during his time with the Penguins, GM Ron Hextall signed the 26-year-old Kapanen to a two-year, $6.4 million contract this past offseason. In his first 40 games returning to the Pens in 2020, he showed promise with 11 goals and 19 assists. In the next 122 games-18 goals, 43 assists.
"Kappy is a really talented player," Sullivan said. "To a certain extent it's on all of us because we didn't maximize his potential. He brings a ton of speed. He has the ability to shoot the puck. He has good offensive instincts, brings a lot of size. There are so many attributes to Kappy's game that are really attractive. For whatever reason we couldn't get his potential out of him and that falls on all of us."
A part of the third line that wildly underperformed, Kapanen has two goals since December third and has points in three of his last 15 games. There were also times where he was a healthy scratch. A Pens first round pick in 2014, eventually traded to Toronto and then re-acquired, he could potentially clear waivers. Sullivan said he's not sure what the next move would be there, but he believes it's just a roster management decision.
A heathy scratch for all of February, Danton Heinen likely returns to the lineup on the third line.
