The Washington Capitals claimed defenseman Jack St. Ivany off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, adding a right-handed defenseman to an injury-plagued backend.
After the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres, head coach Spencer Carbery was asked by RMNB’s Katie Adler to share his thoughts on the move.
“I think just a right-shot defenseman with [Vincent Desharnais] being out 4-to-6 (weeks),” Carbery said. “We’re now down to six defensemen. And our scouts, management, and [general manager Chris Patrick] have liked him in the past.
“I watched him a lot when he was in Wilkes for a long time and had some battles with Hershey there. So a big right shot. Do we expect him to come in here and be Vinny Desharnais? No, but someone that can help us as we’re battling through injuries.”
As Carbery referenced, the Capitals will be without offseason addition Vincent Desharnais for the next 4 to 6 weeks after he underwent an appendectomy earlier this week. In addition to Desharnais missing time, the Caps will also still be without Rasmus Sandin for the foreseeable future as he continues to rehab from ACL surgery.
St. Ivany, 27, has played 57 career NHL games, with all but four coming with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has nine career points, all assists, spending most of his pro career in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. With the Baby Pens, he faced the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, 31 times in the regular season.
Veteran Dylan McIlrath replaced Desharnais in the lineup on Saturday, but he played only 7:14 of ice time in the win and averages just 6:34 in the four games he’s played this season. With the clear lack of trust in McIlrath, the Capitals could immediately shift St. Ivany onto their bottom pairing to play with rookie Cole Hutson.
“We’ll make that decision,” Carbery said. “We’ve got to get him in here and get him into practice, but it is nice to have a few days before we play on Wednesday.”
The extra time between games should give St. Ivany more chance to practice with his new teammates and learn Washington’s systems before Carbery decides how to use him.
The Capitals are off on Sunday and then will practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Monday and Tuesday before hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night.
