Oct. 19: Plasek has cleared waivers, and his contract can now be terminated, per CapFriendly.
Oct. 18: After acquiring him via trade yesterday from the Canucks, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed minor-league forward Karel Plasek on unconditional waivers for the purposes of mutual contract termination.
Plasek, 23, was a sixth-round pick of the Canucks in 2019. He has no NHL experience, and injuries have limited him to just eight AHL contests since his draft day, all coming in 2021-22 with AHL Abbotsford. He was held scoreless and has instead primarily played pro hockey in his native Czechia since first breaking into the pro ranks in 2017-18. With Plasek previously destined for an ECHL assignment before hitting waivers today, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll try and sign a new deal in North America. A return to the Czech Extraliga is the most probable scenario in the coming days.
That return could potentially be with HC Olomouc, the club he spent 2022-23 with on loan from Vancouver. There, he recorded a career-high nine assists and 15 points in 31 contests and added five points in seven playoff games. Olomouc doesn’t have any players with NHL experience on their roster, but it is the club where former Bruins center David Krejci spent the 2021-22 campaign while he took a gap year before eventually returning to the Bruins last season.