Capitals Claim Jack St. Ivany Off Waivers From Jets

It turns out neither defenseman placed on waivers on Friday passed through successfully.  Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports (Twitter link) that the Capitals have claimed defenseman Jack St. Ivany off waivers from the Jets.

St. Ivany’s stint in Winnipeg turned out to be short-lived.  He was acquired from Pittsburgh this summer in a swap of change-of-scenery players, with center David Gustafsson going the other way.  Both players made the opening rosters for their new clubs but didn’t hold their spots for long; Gustafsson passed through waivers just a few days into the regular season.

St. Ivany has played in four games so far this season, while averaging a career-low 13:31 per night.  The 27-year-old is now up to 57 career NHL appearances over parts of four seasons with the rest of his time coming with Pittsburgh.  He has nine assists along with 68 blocks and 122 hits in 15:30 per contest of playing time.

This appears to be a move to add some extra depth on the roster among right-shot options.  Newcomer Vincent Desharnais was off to a nice start to his season, logging over 19 minutes a night but is now out four to six weeks after having an appendectomy.  St. Ivany, who carries a cap hit of $850K and is UFA-eligible next summer, could slot in as Washington’s interim seventh option or push veteran Dylan McIlrath into that role.

With this pickup, the Capitals are now over the Upper Limit of the salary cap in terms of their projected total spending.  However, Rasmus Sandin is currently on LTIR, which provides at least ample short-term flexibility for Washington to add some extra depth to the roster.