Penguins place former first-round pick on waivers
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced on Friday that they've placed former first-round pick Kasperi Kapanen on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the American Hockey League.
Kapanen wasn't at practice on Friday morning and Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan gave an update to reporters as to why he wasn't on the ice.
He added, "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."
The 26-year-old has appeared in 43 games this season for the Penguins, putting up 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists), eight penalty minutes and is a minus-eight. Kapanen is under contract through the 2023-24 season and has a cap hit of $3.2 million.
Coach Sullivan on Kapanen: "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."— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 24, 2023
In other related news, the Nashville Predators have placed defenceman Kevin Gravel on the waiver wire for the purpose of AHL assignment.
Gravel, 30, has spent the majority of the 2022-23 season in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals, putting up 11 points (one goal, ten assists) in 39 games, while also skating in 13 games with the Predators, where he has one assist.
Gravel (NASH) & Kapanen (PIT) on waivers— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 24, 2023
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
| Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
| Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
| Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
| Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
| Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
| Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
| Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
| Clayton Keller | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||