The Pittsburgh Penguins are waiving speedy winger Kasperi Kapanen, head coach Mike Sullivan said.
The move will allow the Penguins to activate defenceman Jan Rutta from injured reserve.
"When a team doesn't live up to expectations, change is inevitable — that's part of it," Sullivan said. "Kappy is a really talented player. To a certain extent, it's on all of us because we didn't find a way to maximize his potential."
Kapanen, 26, has struggled offensively this season and has at times been a healthy scratch. In 43 games he has just seven goals and 20 points while his ice time has dipped to 12:02, nearly two minutes less per game than it was last season.
"I think it was two years ago Kap had 30 points in 40 games. He was looking like a pretty good player. The feeling was that last year was a bit of a down year and that he would bounce back," general manager Ron Hextall explained. "He's still almost a half-a-point-a-game guy. I think he can be a productive player, unfortunately, it hasn't worked here. Tough decisions have to be made along the way and that's what this was with Kappy."
Kapanen is in the first year of a two-year, $6.4-million contract. According to Puckpedia, the Penguins will free up $1.125-million in cap space if Kapanen clears, meaning another move will be required to activate Rutta ahead of Saturday's game against the Blues.
Rutta has missed the last 15 games with an upper-body injury. He told media after practice Friday that he felt good enough to return but that the coaches would ultimately decide whether he does.
The Penguins, 27-21-9, have dropped out of a playoff spot after losing their last four games.
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