The Penguins placed three forwards on waivers today and sent six other players to their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club.
Andreas Johnsson, Joona Koppanen and Alex Nylander hit the waiver wire…we’ll know by tomorrow if they clear or not. The others sent down include forwards Avery Hayes, Rem Pitlick, Sam Poulin and Valtteri Puustinen, along with defensemen Xavier Ouellet and Ty Smith.
The fact that Poulin and Puustinen are waivers exempt no doubt influenced the decision to send them down. Personally, I thought both played well enough in preseason to stick, but there weren’t clear-cut slots available for them. Especially the 24-year-old Puustinen, who would seem to be top-six or bust.
Pitlick, Ouellet and Smith already passed through waivers a handful of days ago. Under contract with the Baby Pens, Hayes didn’t require waivers.
I would’ve been sorely tempted to keep Smith, who played well against Detroit and handles and distributes the puck well, over career AHLer Ryan Shea, who by all accounts had a rough night. But coach Mike Sullivan is said to favor the Northeastern University grad.
Still on the roster and battling for bottom-six forward slots are speedy free agent Vinnie Hinostroza, PTO invitees Austin Wagner (pictured) and Colin White, recent waiver pickup Jansen Harkins and local folk hero Radim Zohorna.
Wagner and Harkins, in particular, drew rave reviews for their gritty efforts against the Red Wings. The birds of a feather each bring size, sand and speed to the lineup. Going strictly by the numbers, Harkins would appear to be the more skilled of the two.
The Pens wrap up their exhibition season tomorrow night in Buffalo. When asked by his play-by-play partner Steve Mears what he’d like to see from the team in the preseason finale, Phil Bourque didn’t hesitate.
“Some jam,” replied the Ol’ Two-Niner
I concur.
A discernible pulse would be nice, too.
Bad Hab-its
Ever since the Pens traded up to draft junior hockey sniper Nathan Légaré with the 74th overall pick in the 2019 Entry Draft, I’ve been pulling like mad for the kid to make it. I high hopes he’d develop into a net-front scorer and all-around nuisance like black-and-gold Cup hero Patric Hornqvist. Hopes that were largely dashed when the feisty winger struggled to score during his first two pro seasons before being dealt to Montreal this summer in the Erik Karlsson blockbuster.
Hoping he’ll get a fresh start and eventually make it with the Canadiens, I was anxious to check on his progress this preseason. I confess, I was sorely disappointed. In his one exhibition game, a 4-2 Canadiens loss to the Devils back on September 25, Nathan was on the ice for two shots attempts for and 14 against 5v5.
Yikes.
Other Rick was quick to point out that his linemates, Lucas Condotta and Xavier Simoneau, posted metrics every bit as awful, so it wasn’t all on Nathan.
Still, hardly an auspicious debut north of the border.
It’s safe to at this stage the odds are stacked against the Montreal native. But the kid’s got a ton of heart, not to mention a great shot and release.
Hope he overcomes those odds and makes it.
Hey all,
Just a quick follow-up. Johnsson, Koppanen and Nylander all cleared waivers and were assigned to the Baby Pens.
In a little bit of a surprise, Carolina released Zach Aston-Reese from his PTO. Thought he’d be a good fit there. Mike, I know you weren’t crazy about him, but I’ve got to think there’s a spot for ZAR out there somewhere. Arizona, Chicago…heck maybe even the Oilers, who are perpetually looking for help at the bottom of their lineup.
Think ZAR would make a perfect Islander, too.
Rick