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Corey Andonovski

Blues, Penguins Swap Mathias Laferrière, Corey Andonovski

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The Penguins announced this afternoon that they’ve acquired minor-league forward Mathias Laferrière from the Blues in exchange for similarly-cast depth winger Corey Andonovski. Both will report to their new affiliate clubs in AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Springfield, respectively.

Laferrière, 24, was a sixth-round pick by the Blues in 2018 and hasn’t made his NHL debut. He’s now in his fourth season of professional hockey, almost all of which has been spent in Springfield, aside from a three-game assignment to ECHL Worcester in 2020-21. He’s been a versatile depth piece in that time, recording 21-49–70 with 62 PIMs and an even rating in 207 games. The 6’2″ forward can line up at both center and right-wing and posted 2-8–10 through the first 33 games of this season with Springfield.

Because Laferrière is set to turn 25 in late June, he will be narrowly eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. He’s thus ineligible for a qualifying offer and can sign anywhere he chooses if he doesn’t agree to an extension with the Penguins before July 1. He’s on a one-year, two-way deal he signed last June to avoid a bout with restricted free agency in St. Louis, paying him $100K in the minors.

Like Laferrière, Andonovski arrives in the Blues organization without NHL experience. Pittsburgh signed the 25-year-old as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton in 2022, and he’s spent the last three seasons and change suiting up for the Baby Pens in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 6’1″, 209-lb winger was a capable secondary scorer as recently as last year when he recorded a career-high 30 points in 63 games. He’s fallen on hard times in 2024-25, though, limited to 3-2–5 in 27 games with 15 PIMs and a plus-one rating.

Andonovski has also accrued enough professional experience to be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. He earns $5K less than Laferrière at the AHL level, saving St. Louis an insignificant amount of cash.

Neither player is expected to factor into NHL minutes down the stretch, and the likelihood of them seeing the game’s highest level at all in their careers seems slim. They’ll instead serve as minor-league depth for the next few months before having the opportunity to find new life this summer in another organization or overseas.

Penguins Re-Sign Corey Andonovski To Two-Way Deal

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The Penguins have re-signed right winger Corey Andonovski to a one-year, two-way deal, the team announced today. It carries the league-minimum $775K cap hit. The team didn’t disclose his AHL salary.

Andonovski, 25, is coming off his second full season in the organization, both of which have been spent entirely on assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, aside from a one-day call-up last October that didn’t result in his NHL debut. He set career highs in 2023-24 with 23 assists and 30 points in 63 games, leading WBS forwards in assists and ranking fifth on the team in points.

Dating back to his AHL debut on an ATO for the Baby Pens to close out the 2021-22 season, Andonovski has 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 130 games. The 6’1″, 194-lb forward was initially an undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton, where he recorded 21 goals, 29 assists and 50 points in 80 career NCAA games.

While he’s taken a step forward, the chances of him making his first NHL appearance on this new deal are slim. There is a bevy of either more experienced (Jonathan Gruden, Bokondji Imama) or higher-ceiling (Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin) forward options available in the Pittsburgh system that would likely get a call-up ahead of Andonovski.

As he was this summer, he’ll be an RFA again in the 2025 offseason. He still won’t require waivers to head to WBS in the fall, although it’s his last season with an exemption.

Penguins Recall Vinnie Hinostroza, Radim Zohorna; Reassign Corey Andonovski

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The Penguins have recalled forward Vinnie Hinostroza from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per a team announcement. In a corresponding transaction, Pittsburgh also reversed the Corey Andonovski and Radim Zohorna flip they made yesterday (as expected), bringing Zohorna back up to the NHL and returning Andonovski to the minors. The Penguins had recalled Andonovski temporarily to help optimize their salary capture when placing netminder Alex Nedeljkovic on LTIR yesterday.

Hinostroza is a new addition, however, earning his first recall since clearing waivers before the season started. The 29-year-old has been an effective volume point-producer in limited action over the past few seasons, but his grasp on an NHL job has slipped after suiting up in just 26 games with the Sabres last season. He’s off to a hot start in the minors, notching two goals and two assists through five games, tying for the team lead with four points.

By placing Nedeljkovic on LTIR, the Penguins now have the cap space for a 21st skater on the roster – which will be Hinostroza. He’s in his first season with the Penguins after signing a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K over the summer. A sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2012, Hinostroza has gone on to appear in 360 NHL games with Chicago, Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida, recording 53 goals and 95 assists for 148 points – a very respectable 0.41 points-per-game pace. The Notre Dame product’s possession numbers have been quite average throughout his career, too, making it a bit puzzling that he hasn’t received longer looks in teams’ lineups. He is prone to inconsistency, but he does have a pair of double-digit goal seasons under his belt. He’s a premier option to have stashed in the minors for a call-up.

Zohorna, 27, will stay in the NHL after notching a goal through his first two contests this season. He’s replaced Jansen Harkins on the Penguins’ third line after Harkins was waived a few days back, lining up with Lars Eller and Drew O’Connor.

Penguins Make Multiple Roster Moves, Place Alex Nedeljkovic On LTIR

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5:14 p.m.: The Penguins have confirmed the moves and officially recalled Hellberg from the AHL.

4:16 p.m.: Per CapFriendly, the Penguins have immediately transferred Nedeljkovic to LTIR after swapping Zohorna for Andonovski on the NHL roster.

4:15 p.m.: The Pittsburgh Penguins made a trio of roster moves Wednesday, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was placed on injured reserve after sustaining an undisclosed injury in last night’s loss to Dallas, while forward Corey Andonovski was recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Forward Radim Zohorna was also sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

As CapFriendly notes, the Andonovski/Zohorna swap is likely a precursor to placing Nedeljkovic on long-term injured reserve. Andonovski’s cap hit is slightly higher than Zohorna’s, which gets the Penguins closer to the $83.5MM Upper Limit before placing Nedeljkovic on LTIR and increases their accruable cap space limit. The cap space freed up by Nedeljkovic’s LTIR placement will then be used to recall a goalie from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, likely veteran farmhand Magnus Hellberg. Andonovski is unlikely to remain on the NHL roster, nor is Zohorna’s demotion expected to be permanent.

It’s unclear when exactly Nedeljkovic sustained the injury, which did not warrant him exiting the game. Last night was the goalie’s second appearance of the season and second appearance as a Penguin after joining the team in free agency last summer. He’ll go on the shelf after posting a 1-1-0 record, .914 SV% and 3.01 GAA in the two appearances.

The Penguins have three goalies under NHL contract stashed in the minors, so their recall options are plentiful. Hellberg, 32, carries the most NHL experience with 23 games, 18 of which came last season with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators. He did struggle, however, posting a 5-8-1 record and a poor .888 SV% overall, conceding more than seven goals above average. He’s made two appearances thus far with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, splitting them with a 1-1-0 record and a .917 SV%. Their top goalie prospect, 21-year-old Joel Blomqvist, is also a potential recall option with a .929 SV% through two games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, but the Penguins would likely prefer to give Blomqvist the starter’s net in the minors and more playing time and have Hellberg sit behind starter Tristan Jarry on the NHL roster.

Corey Andonovski Signs With Pittsburgh Penguins

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March 10: Dreger reports that Andonovski has chosen the Pittsburgh Penguins for his NHL home. The Penguins are notorious for bringing players out of the college ranks and giving them a real opportunity at the NHL level. The team has officially announced the two-year contract, noting that it will begin in the 2022-23 season. He’ll join the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an amateur tryout for the time being.

March 7: As the NCAA season comes to a close for many programs, NHL teams will be desperately trying to sell their organization as the best place for an undrafted talent to take the next step. That’s what is happening in the case of Corey Andonovski, who according to Darren Dreger of TSN “continues to mull over multiple NHL offers” and could make a decision this week.

Andonovski, 22, just finished his third season (and fourth year) at Princeton, scoring 22 points in 31 games. Technically he could go back as he had an extra year of eligibility due to the lost 2020-21 season–when Ivy League schools did not participate in hockey due to COVID restrictions–but that appears not to be the case. Princeton was ousted from the ECAC first round by Union over the weekend, with Andonovski scoring the lone goal for the Tigers in the deciding game.

Since the beginning of this month, NHL teams have been able to sign undrafted prospects to entry-level contracts that start in 2022-23, though that may not necessarily be the case here. Andonovski would be signing a two-year deal either way, meaning if a team really wants to win the battle for his services, they could offer him a contract that starts in 2021-22 instead, get him directly into professional hockey and closer to restricted free agency.

Signing his first NHL contract will be a big step for the former BCHL forward, but there’s potentially another big moment coming up soon as well. On March 16, the Hobey Baker Top-Ten Finalists will be announced, and Andonovski was one of the original nominees. His is a long shot, given how many other outstanding college players there are around the country, but even being nominated is obviously a nice honor in his final season with Princeton.

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