Kapenen was absent from practice this morning and Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan stated that Ron Hextall told him that Kapanen was absent because he was going to be placed on waivers. The move was made official this afternoon. By sending Kapanen and his $3.2M cap hit on waivers, the Penguins free up $1.2M in cap space.
"When a team doesn't live up to expectations, change is inevitable - that's part of it. 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," Sullivan said of the decision to waive Kapanen.
Kapanen was reacquired by the Penguins in 2020 from the Leafs for Filip Hallander and a 2020 first round pick in a multi-player deal and signed a 2-year extension this past off-season.
POLL | ||
24 FEVRIER | 304 ANSWERS Former Leaf placed on waivers Will Kasperi Kapanen be claimed off of waivers? | ||
Yes | 232 | 76.3 % |
No | 72 | 23.7 % |
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