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Mark Friedman

Mark Friedman Clears Waivers

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April 13: Friedman has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues before tonight’s game.

April 12: As the team is getting healthier with their season on the line, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

While it’s rare for a player to hit waivers after the trade deadline, let alone this late in the season, the move comes out of salary cap necessity for Pittsburgh. Defenseman Marcus Pettersson has progressed in his recovery from a lower-body injury and will be a game-time decision tomorrow night, per head coach Mike Sullivan, meaning the team needs to clear some cap room to activate Pettersson from long-term injured reserve.

Friedman and his $775,000 salary are the odd factors out here, and assuming the near-given scenario that he clears waivers, will be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. The 27-year-old has split the season evenly between the two teams, playing a total of 47 pro games and recording nine points.

After dropping their last home game of the regular season to the Chicago Blackhawks last night, 5-2, the Penguins must rely on the 68-point Montreal Canadiens to defeat the New York Islanders in regulation tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive. Pittsburgh would then need a regulation win against Columbus on Thursday to continue their 16-year postseason streak.

Friedman, strictly a depth defender, had suited up in 12 straight games for Pittsburgh before he was a healthy scratch against Chicago.

Killorn, Fox, Friedman Earn Fines

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The NHL Department of Player Safety announced a pair of fines on Thursday afternoon, stemming from last night’s incidents in the Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Rangers game. Alex Killorn owes $5,000 for his slash on Igor Shesterkin, while Adam Fox will pay $5,000 for slashing Corey Perry.

While they might be called slashes by the league, both were actually spears. Killorn came flying in to poke at a puck in the crease while Shesterkin was sitting in the net, causing a massive brawl as the Rangers attempted to protect their netminder. Fox speared Perry in the gut, sending him sprawling to the ice.

Neither one was likely to draw a suspension, but will certainly put some more gasoline on a pretty intense rivalry. While a playoff matchup between the two clubs may be difficult this year, plays like this won’t be forgotten.

The league also issued a $2,000 fine to Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman for embellishment. That means it was his second citation of the year for diving, as the fines escalate and start with a warning. The first incident came during a December 28 game against Detroit, while the latest was in Sunday’s match against the Flyers.

Marcus Pettersson Put On LTIR By Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman Marcus Pettersson has been put on LTIR retroactive to March 18th. Pettersson left in the third period of Saturday’s 6-0 loss against the New York Rangers with what is being described as a lower body injury. Pettersson was shuttled back and forth from the bench to the dressing room a few times in that game but was eventually shutdown when it became out of reach.

The Penguin’s defense has been decimated by injuries in the past week. Right shot defensemen Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta are both already sidelined by ailments, and now Pettersson has joined them. The Penguins open the week against the Ottawa Senators this evening and will have to try and battle without half of their starting defense. They already brought up Mark Friedman on the weekend, and now have recalled Taylor Fedun who skated with the team this morning at practice.

Fedun is the captain of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and last played in the NHL during the 2019-20 season when he had 9 points for the Dallas Stars in 27 games. Fedun won’t offer the Penguins much offense, but he is a defensively sound and capable replacement for the Penguins short term. So far in the AHL this season, Fedun has 10 points in 53 games.

It’s a tough break for Pettersson and the Penguins as he has really flourished this season in an expanded role. He has spent large stretches on the Penguins top defensive unit next to Kris Letang and has played some terrific hockey. Coming into Saturday’s loss, Pettersson had 11 points in his previous 10 games and was just a single point away from matching his career high. This is a far cry from a year ago when the Penguins tried to move on from Pettersson but couldn’t find any takers for the Swedish defenseman.

The Penguins will try and overcome this hurdle beginning tonight at home to the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh currently sits seven points ahead of Ottawa for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 13 games to play. The Penguins have been on a slide having lost three games in a row, including the blowout loss to the Rangers. The Penguins have been an uneven team throughout the year having gone on several lengthy winning and losing streaks. For now, they control their postseason fate, but with a surging Florida Panthers team sitting one point back, they could be prone to a letdown in what has been a disappointing season thus far.

Penguins Place Nick Bonino On LTIR, Recall Mark Friedman

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Injuries have tested Pittsburgh’s already tricky salary cap situation in recent games and with the back end being banged up at the moment, reinforcements were needed.  The Penguins created some short-term cap space to create room for a recall as they announced that center Nick Bonino has been placed on LTIR while recalling blueliner Mark Friedman from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Last weekend, the team revealed that Bonino suffered a lacerated kidney in just his third game with the team.  While he had been released from the hospital, he was still ruled out as week-to-week.  That now changes to 10 games and 24 days from the date of injury, the minimum requirements for a player to be placed on LTIR.  Given the initial timeframe, it’s still possible that Bonino is able to return to the lineup before the end of the regular season.

With the placement, Pittsburgh adds $1.025MM to its LTIR pool; while Bonino’s true cap hit is double that amount, Montreal held back an additional $1.025MM as part of a three-team trade at the deadline earlier this month.

That move allows Pittsburgh to be able to afford Friedman’s $775K cap hit on their active roster.  The 27-year-old has played in 11 games with the Penguins this season in a depth role plus another 24 in the minors where he has a goal and five assists in 24 contests.

Notably, the Penguins are still only able to afford just this one recall as the leftover difference between Bonino’s cap hit and Friedman’s plus the $375K they had in their pool before this move (per CapFriendly), is just $625K which is below the $750K league minimum.  Accordingly, if more recalls will be needed, they’re going to have to get quite creative to make it happen.

Penguins Injury Notes: Petry, Bonino, Poehling

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For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins lost the services of defenseman Jeff Petry. The 35-year-old played just three shifts in the first period before he exited the game after taking an elbow from Tyler Motte. Petry also exited Tuesday nights 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens with an apparent injury. Petry’s injury luck in the last two games has forced the Penguins defense to play shorthanded in back-to-back games, leaning heavily on Kris Letang who himself has dealt with a series of health issues this season.

If Petry is out for any length of time it would be likely that recent healthy scratch Chad Ruhwedel would draw back into the Penguins lineup. The Penguins do have Mark Friedman and Ty Smith stashed in the minors but would need to move Nick Bonino onto LTIR to call up either player. Ty Smith was quite good in limited NHL action earlier this season, however the young defenseman is still week-to-week with a facial fracture.

In other Penguins injury news:

  • Seth Rorabaugh is reporting that Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told tonight’s MSG broadcast that Pittsburgh expects center Nick Bonino to be back by the playoffs. Bonino was re-acquired on trade deadline day by the Penguins to center their fourth line but was only able to dress in a handful of games after spending most of the season with the San Jose Sharks. Jeff Carter has taken Bonino’s spot on the fourth line in recent games but has struggled mightily going -4 in just 8:28 of ice time on Tuesday against Montreal.
  • Ryan Poehling did return to action tonight after missing over a month with a lingering upper body injury. The young forward saw duty on the fourth line next to Jeff Carter and Josh Archibald. Poehling’s return could create an interesting situation on the Penguins fourth line should Jeff Carter continue to struggle. Poehling was centering the unit earlier in the season prior to the injury and showed good chemistry with Drew O’Connor and Danton Heinen.

Brock McGinn, Mark Friedman Clear Waivers

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March 1: Both players have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues, giving the Penguins additional cap space.

Feb 28: The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to use the waiver wire to clear salary off the books, this time waiving Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. As the deadline approaches, clearing room could give the Penguins enough flexibility to pull off a more significant move.

McGinn, 29, was one of Ron Hextall’s first big moves when he took over as general manager in 2021. He signed a four-year, $11MM contract with the Penguins on the first day of free agency after several up-and-down seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes. Almost immediately, it was clear that McGinn’s offensive production would never really materialize as he settled into a checking role in Pittsburgh.

In 2021-22, he scored 12 goals and 22 points in 64 games, numbers that he has yet to match this season. By placing him on waivers, the Penguins could bury $1.125MM of his $2.75MM contract in the minor leagues, or—perhaps hopefully—lose the entire contract to another team, as they did Kasperi Kapanen recently.

Cap space is more valuable for the team right now, especially if the team has something big in the works for the deadline. Reports have emerged several times about Hextall trying to trade McGinn, but it seems like they couldn’t find a taker before being forced into this move.

While Friedman certainly isn’t as expensive—he carries a cap hit of just $775K through next season—he is another asset that can be buried in the minor leagues to open up some room. His entire cap hit will be removed if he clears and is assigned to the AHL, though it isn’t much more than the league minimum.

Tristan Jarry, Ryan Poehling Placed On Injured Reserve; Mark Friedman Recalled

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Jan 13: In a curious move, Friedman has been recalled again with no corresponding transaction. The team had explained that they wanted to get him in some minor league action to stay fresh, but he did not arrive in time to suit up for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this week, so is back without appearing for the AHL club.

Jan 11: The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a couple of curious moves today, clearing several roster spots at the same time. Mark Friedman has been assigned to the minor leagues, while Ryan Poehling and Tristan Jarry have been placed on injured reserve. Each of their stints are retroactive to their most recent appearance – December 30 for Poehling and January 2 for Jarry.

The move drops Pittsburgh to 20 players on the roster, with three empty spots. That could signal the potential return of Kris Letang, Jeff Petry, or Josh Archibald, the latter two who skated yesterday during the optional.

Friedman has only played three times for the Penguins this year, last suiting up more than a week ago against the Boston Bruins. The veteran minor league defenseman is nothing but depth at this point and will likely bounce back and forth between the AHL and NHL the rest of the year.

Because they have been placed retroactively, both Poehling and Jarry can be activated whenever healthy. Both have been listed as day-to-day by head coach Mike Sullivan, though there is no clear date for either’s return.

The Penguins, fresh off a win over the Vancouver Canucks last night, are facing the dreaded back-to-back-with-travel that teams struggle with this weekend. They host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, before traveling to face the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night. Some injury reinforcements by then would be very welcome, as they try to climb back into the Metropolitan Division race.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Mark Friedman

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Dec. 27: As expected, the Penguins have recalled Friedman from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton today.

Dec. 23: While the roster freeze is in effect, limiting the number of transactions a team can make, it doesn’t apply to players recalled after December 11. That’s why the Pittsburgh Penguins can return Mark Friedman to the minor leagues over Christmas, now that they are off until next week.

Friedman, 26, was last recalled on December 14, but still hasn’t played an NHL game this season. The depth defenseman saw plenty of action a year ago, appearing in 26 games for the Penguins and recording a career-high five points.

With just six other defensemen on the roster, it’s likely that the Penguins bring Friedman right back up after the season resumes and keep him until Jeff Petry is able to return. Sending him down now doesn’t actually save any money, given he is on a one-way $775K deal, but will help prevent his waiver clock from expiring.

Remember, it is not just games played that resets that clock. If a player stays on an active roster for 30 days (cumulative), they will also need to pass through waivers again to be sent down.

Penguins Place Jeff Petry On LTIR, Recall Two Players

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The Penguins will be without one of their top defenders for at least a little while as the team announced that they have placed Jeff Petry on long-term injured reserve retroactive to December 11.  The move frees up some short-term cap space and Pittsburgh used some of that right away as they recalled defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Drew O’Connor from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Petry was injured in Saturday’s victory over Buffalo with what appeared to be a hand or wrist injury.  Following the game, he suggested it wouldn’t be a long-term issue but clearly, this placement suggests otherwise.  The Penguins acquired the 35-year-old over the offseason from Montreal with the hopes of giving them a strong one-two punch on the right-hand side with Kris Letang.  Petry has fit in well with a dozen points in 28 games while averaging over 22 minutes a night, a number that jumped to over 26 minutes per contest while Letang was recovering from his stroke.  Now, Letang will be counted on to take on a heavier workload with Petry out for at least the next 10 games and 24 days.  Chad Ruhwedel will likely slot in as a regular on the back end in Petry’s absence.

O’Connor is the top scorer for Pittsburgh’s farm team as he has eight goals and 14 assists in 20 games so far this season, a rate that’s a small improvement over the 32 points in 33 AHL contests he had last year.  The 24-year-old played in 22 games with Pittsburgh last season where he had three goals and two assists but so far this year, he has been limited to just three contests, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 8:32 per night.

As for Friedman, he played in a career-high 26 NHL contests last season but Pittsburgh was able to get him through waivers back in October and assigned him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton upon clearing.  He has played in 19 games in the minors so far, collecting a goal and four assists.  For Pittsburgh to be able to activate Petry when he’s able to return, they will have to get cap-compliant which likely means that Friedman and O’Connor will have to go back to the minors at that time, barring other injuries.

Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Assign Mark Friedman To AHL

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced this afternoon that they have re-assigned defnemsen Mark Friedman to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. No corresponding transaction was announced. The move leaves Pittsburgh with 22 out of a possible 23 men on its roster.

Friedman, 26, has spent the bulk of his time this season at the AHL level, recalled to Pittsburgh for the first time on Friday prior to today’s re-assignment. The defenseman has played 10 games this season, all with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he’s tallied two points, both assists, as well as a +2 rating. Friedman spent all of 2021-22 in the Penguins organization, suiting up for 26 games in the NHL, recording five points. The team signed Friedman to a two-year, one-way contract extension back in March of this year.

The veteran joined the Pittsburgh organization back in February of 2021 via waiver claim after the Philadelphia Flyers, who drafted him, chose to waive him. Interestingly, Friedman has spent his entire professional career in the state of Pennsylvania; prior to the claim, Friedman played parts of five seasons in the Flyers organization, primarily with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, their AHL affiliate, as well as 11 games with Philadelphia spread over three seasons.

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