The St. Louis Blues have claimed forward Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins placed Kapanen on waivers in order to make room to activate defenceman Jan Rutta off injured reserve.
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.
“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 is in the first year of a two-year, $6.4-million contract. The Penguins, 27-21-9, have dropped out of a playoff spot after losing their last four games and play the Blues Saturday afternoon.
