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Jonathan Gruden

Waiver Wire: 10/4/24

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:

Anaheim Ducks

F Jansen Harkins

Boston Bruins

G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle

Florida Panthers

F William Lockwood

Los Angeles Kings

F Taylor Ward

New Jersey Devils

F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman

Philadelphia Flyers

F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Matt Tomkins

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Alex Steeves

Washington Capitals

D Ethan Bear
F Luke Philp
F Michael Sgarbossa

Penguins Sign Jonathan Gruden, Filip Kral To New Contracts

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Shortly after news broke that the Pittsburgh Penguins are keeping defenseman Jack St. Ivany in the organization for the next three seasons, two similar signings were announced. The team has signed forward Jonathan Gruden to a two-year extension worth $775K, as well as defenseman Filip Kral to a one-year contract for the same amount.

Much like St. Ivany, Gruden was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, going 95th overall to the Ottawa Senators. A little over two years later, without having played a game in the Senators organization, Ottawa traded Gruden with a second-round pick in 2020 to the Penguins in exchange for goaltender Matt Murray.

Primarily serving as organizational depth at the forward position, Gruden just completed his fourth season at the professional level, but largely played with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Since officially joining the team in the 2020-21 season, Gruden has suited in 208 games for WBS, managing 45 goals and 96 points up to this point.

In Pittsburgh, the team has kept a very tight leash on Gruden, allowing him to play 16 games but limiting him to an average of 8:03 of ice time. Much like he did during the 2023-24 NHL season, Gruden should once again serve as injury insurance for the Penguins, with a majority of his games coming at the AHL level.

After suiting up in two games for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 regular season, Kral spent last season playing for the Lahti Pelicans in the Finnish Liiga. Over 46 games, Kral scored five goals and 37 points, which led all defensemen on the team in both assists and points. After a quality season overseas, General Manager Kyle Dubas brings another former Toronto player into the Penguins organization.

Penguins Recall Ryan Shea, Assign Jonathan Gruden To AHL

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Following the news that defenseman Ryan Graves has a concussion, the Penguins have made a pair of roster moves.  Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays that defenseman Ryan Shea is now on Pittsburgh’s roster while forward Jonathan Gruden has been returned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Shea is in his first season with the Penguins after signing with them as a Group Six unrestricted free agent last July.  The decision was a wise one as he broke camp with the big club and spent more than two months on the NHL roster before being waived in mid-December.

Since then, the 27-year-old has been recalled now six times as he’s a trusted option to turn to when injuries arise.  Shea has played in 22 games with Pittsburgh so far this season, his first taste of NHL action.  He’s still looking for his first point but is averaging a respectable 12:28 per game on the third pairing when he is in the lineup.  He has been a bit more productive in the minors, collecting two goals and four assists in 22 AHL contests.

As for Gruden, he has been shuffled back and forth quite frequently this season with seven different recalls under his belt.  It hasn’t translated to a ton of action, however, as he has played in just 13 NHL contests this season, notching a single goal while averaging 8:40 per game.  The 23-year-old has also played in 46 AHL games, posting 13 goals and 11 assists.

While Pittsburgh likely would have preferred to keep Gruden on the roster, his assignment was salary cap-related as they didn’t have enough cap space to have him and Shea up with them.

Penguins Recall Jonathan Gruden

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have once again recalled forward Jonathan Gruden (Twitter link). This marks Gruden’s eighth call-up of the season, and brings him back to the NHL roster after six days in the minor leagues. Gruden played in three AHL games this weekend, recording no points, one fight, and five shots on goal.

Gruden is being recalled alongside Samuel Poulin – with the pair providing depth for a Penguins team currently facing injuries to Noel Acciari, Matthew Nieto, and Jansen Harkins – the former of the three being placed on injured reserve this morning. Gruden and Poulin will fight for the team’s open fourth-line role, with Gruden carrying the upper hand thanks to his 12 NHL appearances this season. He has just one point, his first career goal, in those appearances – though he’s provided serviceable grit in the bottom six. Poulin has yet to play in the NHL this season, with his only games in the league coming during a three-game stint last season. He’s impressed in the AHL, though, with 13 goals and 27 points in 36 games this season bringing his career totals to 68 points in 123 games. He has just one point in his NHL appearances.

Gruden has bounced between the AHL and NHL lineup for much of the last two seasons, serving as a de facto fill-in when Pittsburgh is facing injury. He was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, being selected out of the US National Team Development Program before pursuing one year in college and one year in the OHL. He’s still searching for his scoring groove in the pros, with just 96 points in 207 career AHL games.

Penguins Recall Jack St. Ivany, Assign Jonathan Gruden

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have reversed their minor league moves once again, recalling defenseman Jack St. Ivany and assigning forward Jonathan Gruden (Twitter link), undoing the moves they made on March 18th and 19th. Gruden appeared in Pittsburgh’s March 19th loss to the New Jersey Devils, recording one shot and one hit in just under seven minutes of ice time.

St. Ivany played in just his second game in nine days on Monday – also marking his first game since receiving his first NHL recall. And he was clearly excited to prove himself, recording three assists and breaking a 10-game scoring drought. The hot night brought his scoring up to four goals and 15 points in 53 AHL games. He’ll now return to the NHL roster with the hope that his strong performance on Monday can earn him his NHL debut.

Meanwhile, Gruden will return to the AHL, where he’s already managed 13 goals and 24 points in 43 games this season. Gruden has received his first extended look at the NHL this season, playing in 12 games after earning his first three games in the league last season. He’s managed just one goal in those 15 games, though he’s added 35 hits and five blocks – doing what he can to earn the fourth-line role he’s been assigned.

Jesse Puljujarvi will slot back in to the lineup with Gruden now assigned to the minors. Puljujarvi is on a redemption tour, signing with Pittsburgh in February of this season. He’s since struggled through 11 NHL games, managing just one goal, two penalty minutes, and a -1. Puljujarvi is continuing to search for his scoring groove after undergoing bilateral hip surgery this summer. He managed four goals and nine points in 13 AHL games before signing with the Penguins, showing the potential for high-scoring could still be there. Puljujarvi, the fourth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, managed a career-high 36 points in 65 games during the 2021-22 season, but has since struggled to find his footing in the NHL.

Snapshots: Oshie, Protas, Brodin, Gruden

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Before the puck drop in the team’s game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Washington Capitals announced two injuries to their lineup. In the announcement, the Capitals stated that forward T.J. Oshie is out with an upper-body injury, and Aliaksei Protas is out with a lower-body injury.

Although both players were given a day-to-day injury designation, it is much of the same for Oshie this season. Oshie has only played in 43 of a possible 68 games for the Capitals this season, only managing 11 goals and 19 points in the process. With one more year remaining on his eight-year, $46MM contract after this year, the injury concern is certainly piling up for the veteran forward.

Protas, on the other hand, has sustained much more health than Oshie this season, skating in 65 games for Washington. Earning a five-year, $16.875MM contract extension in January, Protas has turned into quite the playmaker for the Capitals, scoring five goals and 28 points altogether.

Other snapshots:

  • Moving out West, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Jonas Brodin would miss the team’s game tonight against the Los Angeles Kings with a lower-body injury. It will mark the 19th game that Brodin has missed this season with injury, as an upper-body injury, as well as another lower-body injury, have kept him out of the lineup for multiple games at a time. Nevertheless, Brodin is still the second-highest-scoring defenseman for the Wild this season, putting up seven goals and 23 points in 51 games.
  • After filling in for the injured Jeff Carter last night, Jonathan Gruden has been returned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after being recalled on an emergency loan. Gruden will return to a situation in WBS where he has been largely successful this year, scoring 13 goals and 24 points in 43 games at the AHL level.

Metropolitan Notes: Gruden, Wotherspoon, Marino

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With Jeff Carter out with an upper-body injury tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in a position to recall a forward to fill his spot in the active lineup. In doing so, the Penguins brought up Jonathan Gruden from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins via an emergency recall.

Recalled oftenly this season by Pittsburgh, this transaction will mark Gruden’s sixth call-up of the season in total. In now his fourth season with the Penguins organization, Gruden has accrued the most NHL games played in a single year for his short career, scoring one goal in 11 games for Pittsburgh this year.

While still failing to make a name for himself at the NHL level, Gruden is been an solid contributor to the WBS Penguins over the last four years. Over 204 regular season games overall, Gruden has scored 45 goals and 96 points in total, while also chipping in one goal and three points in five playoff games, as well.

Other Metro notes:

  • In a similar transaction, Pittsburgh’s opponent tonight, the New Jersey Devils, have recalled defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon by way of an emergency recall. In his second emergency recall in only his last week, Wotherspoon has had an elevated opportunity to play in the NHL due to multiple injuries on New Jersey’s back end. Unfortunately, Wotherspoon has yet to play with the Devils this season, but has registered four goals and 19 points in 54 games for the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.
  • Paving the way for another emergency recall to Wotherspoon, earlier reports indicated that defenseman John Marino would miss the game tonight due to an upper-body injury (X Link). With Marino now out with an injury for at least this evening, New Jersey will be without three of their top-four defensemen, leading to a 5-11-0 record over the last 16 games for the organization.

Penguins Place Jonathan Gruden On Waivers

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3/12: As expected, Friedman reports that Gruden has successfully cleared waivers, allowing the Penguins to safely send Gruden to their AHL affiliate in WBS.

3/11: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Penguins placed forward Jonathan Gruden on waivers on Monday to assign him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Gruden, 23, needs waivers to return to the minors after crossing the 10-game mark since last clearing waivers during training camp. He’s suited up 11 times with Pittsburgh this year in a minimal role, scoring a goal and posting a -2 rating while averaging 8:49 per game.

A 2018 fourth-round pick of the Senators, Gruden has provided some injury insurance over the past few months but hasn’t shown enough to force head coach Mike Sullivan to give him increased minutes. His possession numbers at even strength have been relatively poor, posting a 39.5 CF% and 39.6 xGF%, but Sullivan uses his fourth line primarily in a defensive role, limiting Gruden’s opportunities to generate offense.

Gruden is on an expiring contract, so his likelihood of getting claimed is near zero. Players who are claimed off waivers after the trade deadline are ineligible to play for their new NHL teams down the stretch. He’s set to be an RFA with arbitration rights upon completing his one-year, two-way ($775K/$100K) deal signed last July and is owed a qualifying offer of $814K, per CapFriendly.

His waiver placement could indicate that Matthew Nieto, who remains on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury in early January, could be nearing a return. He was projected to miss two months, but his absence has surpassed that estimate. Otherwise, waiving Gruden leaves Pittsburgh with only 12 healthy forwards – Jansen Harkins is on LTIR after undergoing a recent hand surgery, while Drew O’Connor is sidelined with a concussion he sustained last week.

Penguins Recall Jonathan Gruden

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Yesterday, the Penguins opted to bring up one of the three players they had assigned to the minors in forward Valtteri Puustinen.  Today, they’ve brought up a second one as the team announced (Twitter link) that forward Jonathan Gruden has been recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The 23-year-old has spent most of the season at the AHL level, tallying 13 goals and 10 assists in 41 games.  Meanwhile, this will be his fourth recall of the year and Gruden got into nine games with Pittsburgh in the first three, scoring once while chipping in with 26 hits in 8:32 per game.  He’s playing on a one-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum at the NHL level and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Notably, the Penguins don’t have the cap space to execute this recall so there is a secondary transaction that hasn’t been announced.  With Jansen Harkins expected to be out for a while, he has likely been transferred to LTIR which would open up another $850K in LTIR space, enough to cover Gruden’s $775K AAV.

Barring an unannounced injury to one of their current forwards, Gruden’s recall should burn one of their four post-deadline non-emergency recalls.

Penguins Likely To Move Alex Nedeljkovic, Make Several Roster Moves

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The Penguins moved out Jake Guentzel last night and it appears he won’t be the only rental on the move.  Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they’re likely to move goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic before the 2 PM CT deadline.

Nedeljkovic spent most of last year in the minors but has been a full-timer with Pittsburgh this season, faring relatively well in the backup role.  Through 21 games so far this season, the 28-year-old has a 2.87 GAA and a .908 SV%, his best numbers since his rookie campaign back in 2020-21.

While the goalie market has had a few big names in there, talk of some of those names moving has started to die off.  Instead, the goalies that move might be short-term rentals and Nedeljkovic on an expiring $1.5MM contract fits right into that category.  There are playoff-bound teams that could use an upgrade at the backup goalie position and he would fit the bill so GM Kyle Dubas should be able to find a suitable return for his services.

While not consequential after the 23-player roster limit that was lifted this morning, they also cleared a roster spot by placing winger Jansen Harkins on injured reserve, per CapFriendly. The 26-year-old winger has just four points in 43 games this season and did not return to last night’s game against the Capitals after a fight.

Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that forwards Valtteri Puustinen, Joona Koppanen, and Jonathan Gruden were all assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Those moves were needed to get them back into salary cap compliance after losing Guentzel’s LTIR buffer in the swap yesterday.  Puustinen has played in 31 games with Pittsburgh so far this season, notching 13 points and seems like a likely candidate to be recalled after the trade deadline if they have cap room.  Gruden, meanwhile, has a goal in nine NHL appearances while Koppanen has been held off the scoresheet in his four contests.

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