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Radim Zohorna

Radim Zohorna Signs In Sweden

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Cross Radim Zohorna off the free agent list.  Rather than attempt a comeback in North America, he has decided to remain overseas.  However, instead of staying in the Swiss League, he’s off to Sweden as Farjestad announced that they’ve signed the forward to a two-year deal.

The 29-year-old looked like a possible late bloomer after showing some offensive upside in his native Czechia.  That, coupled with a 6’6 frame, was enough for Pittsburgh to ink him to an entry-level deal in 2020.  He split that season back home and in the Penguins’ system and held his own in eight NHL games, where he had four points.

That was enough to land him a longer look at the top level the following year when he got into 17 contests with Pittsburgh but in 2022-23, he found himself on waivers and was claimed by Calgary.  He subsequently cleared waivers soon after and spent most of the year in the minors while also getting a brief stint with Toronto.  The Penguins brought Zohorna back in 2023-24 on a two-way deal where he got into a career-best 33 games, bringing his tally to date to 68.

However, rather than search out another two-way pact in North America, Zohorna decided to try his hand overseas last summer, inking a one-year deal with HC Lugano.  Unfortunately, it was a bit of a quiet year offensively as he had nine goals and 13 assists in 39 games, numbers that were relatively close to his AHL production from the year before.  Now, he’s on the move once more with the hopes that a strong showing in Sweden could get him back on the NHL radar down the road.

NL’s HC Lugano Signs Radim Zohorna

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HC Lugano of the Swiss National League has signed forward Radim Zohorna to a one-year deal, per a team announcement.

Zohorna, 28, has been a fringe NHLer for the past four years, mostly with the Penguins. He made a combined 25 appearances for them in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, 10 appearances split between the Flames and Maple Leafs in 2022-23, and returned to Pittsburgh for a career-high 33 games played in 2023-24. He accumulated 18 points in that total 68-game sample. He reached UFA status last week after wrapping up his one-year, two-way deal with the Pens.

A few years ago, Zohorna was a relative unknown, spending all of his professional career in his native Czechia until the Pens took a swing on the 6’6″, 230-lb forward as an undrafted free agent signing in 2020. In the preceding season with the Extraliga’s BK Mladá Boleslav, Zohorna hit career highs with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 46 games. After beginning his entry-level contract with Pittsburgh back on loan to Mladá Boleslav during COVID, he erupted for 22 points and a +19 rating in just 21 games before the 2020-21 NHL season began in January, at which point he joined AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Pens briefly lost Zohorna for the 2022-23 season after Calgary claimed him on waivers and later traded him to Toronto at the deadline, but he was brought back as a free agent last summer. His AHL results since coming to North America have been strong, posting 32 goals and 92 points in 132 games. But he was never able to convert that appealing blend of size and scoring ability into consistent NHL minutes, serving primarily as a fourth-line fixture during his various call-ups. He only averaged more than 10 minutes per game in a single season once.

He’ll now look for more opportunity in Switzerland, joining a Lugano forward core rife with former NHLers (Mark Arcobello, Daniel Carr, Jiří Sekáč, Calvin Thurkauf). To open up a roster spot for Zohorna, Lugano released undersized forward Arttu Ruotsalainen, who was disappointing with 14 points in 43 games last year. Ruotsalainen’s NHL rights are still held by the Sabres, who signed him as a UDFA in 2019, but he won’t be coming back to Buffalo – he already found a new home on a one-year deal with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League today.

Penguins Place Ryan Shea On Waivers, Assign Three

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April 19: Shea has cleared waivers and can head to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per CapFriendly.

April 18: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman Ryan Shea on waivers (Twitter link). It’s his second time on waivers this season, after passing through unclaimed in December. The Penguins also assigned Valtteri Puustinen, Radim Zohorna, and Jack St. Ivany to the minor leagues (Twitter link).

Shea has served as one of many rotating through Pittsburgh’s seventh defenseman role, ultimately slotting into 31 games. He recorded just one point – an April 4th goal – in those appearances this season, though he did manage six points in 22 AHL games.

Shea made his NHL debut earlier this year, joining the Penguins as an unrestricted free agent last summer. It was the first move of Shea’s young career, after spending his first three pro seasons with the AHL’s Texas Stars. Shea was originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks but went on to sign with the Dallas Stars after going unsigned by the Blackhawks. He managed 66 points in 163 games with the Texas Stars.

These assignments come after the Penguins’ 2023-24 season ended with no playoff berth. Shea will, if he clears waivers, join the trio of assignees as reinforcements to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who are bound for a strong playoff spot of their own, currently ranked third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.

Penguins Reassign Sam Poulin, Recall Radim Zohorna

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The Penguins announced that right-wing Samuel Poulin has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His roster spot will go to left-wing Radim Zohorna, who was recalled from WBS in a corresponding move.

Poulin has been on the Penguins roster for most days since he was recalled on an emergency loan on March 26, although he’s been returned to the Baby Pens and promptly recalled twice in that span. He played three games to close out last month, his first NHL stint of the season, going without a point and posting a -1 rating while averaging only 7:47 per game. He’s been a healthy scratch in four straight.

The 2019 first-round pick now returns to WBS, where he’s had his best season in the professional ranks, with 27 points (13 G, 14 A) in 36 games. It’s a nice rebound after being away from the organization for most of last season on personal leave for mental health reasons. The AHL Pens have clinched a playoff spot, unlike their big brothers, so he’ll get a chance to play meaningful games past mid-April if Pittsburgh can’t leapfrog the rival Capitals for the second wild-card spot in the East. He’s nearing completion of his entry-level contract and needs a new deal this offseason as a pending RFA.

Zohorna comes up to provide head coach Mike Sullivan with a more experienced option to slide into a depth role as they enter must-win territory in their final four games. The Pens picked up Zohorna on a one-year, two-way deal last summer after he split the 2022-23 season between the Flames, Maple Leafs, and both of their AHL affiliates. It’s his second stint with the organization – Pittsburgh brought him to North America in 2020 by inking the undrafted free agent to an ELC but lost him on waivers to Calgary at the beginning of last season.

He failed to crack the Pittsburgh roster out of camp but found himself back in the NHL in late October, shuffled between leagues almost daily before earning a more permanent recall on Nov. 2. He notched seven points (four goals, three assists) in 31 games in bottom-six minutes before landing back on the waiver wire in mid-January. He’s been on assignment to WBS since. The 6’6″ power winger has been great in the minors, posting 25 points in 29 games with a +2 rating. The pending UFA will now cycle into the bottom six minutes to close out the season and will look to earn an extension.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Radim Zohorna On Waivers, Recall Ryan Shea

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Jan. 17: Zohorna cleared waivers and can be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the Penguins’ discretion, TSN’s Chris Johnston reports. In a corresponding transaction, the team summoned defenseman Ryan Shea after sending him to the minors last week.

Jan. 16: The Pittsburgh Penguins are placing depth forward, Radim Zohorna, on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. If Zohorna does clear and is reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, it will mark Zohorna’s first time back in the AHL since late October of this season.

Towards the beginning of the year, Zohorna was originally recalled by Pittsburgh to improve a bottom-six that had struggled out of the gate. Zohorna got off to a strong start, scoring three goals and six points in 13 games between October 21st and November 19th. Unfortunately, since then, Zohorna has seen his production crater, as he has only been able to muster one goal in his next 18 games for the Penguins, seeing his average ice time drop by approximately three minutes.

In the meantime, with Pittsburgh’s recent recall of Colin White on Saturday, the team may be more comfortable with giving White an opportunity on the team’s third or fourth line. White had originally spent the first few months of the season in the AHL, scoring five goals and 10 points in 21 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Now returning to the AHL, Zohorna will return to a very familiar setting in eastern Pennsylvania. Although he has only played in two games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, Zohorna is a veteran of 53 games for Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate since 2020-21, scoring 15 goals and 32 points over that stretch.

East Notes: Heinen, Mayfield, Hinostroza, Zohorna

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Free agent forward Danton Heinen is still on a professional tryout with the Bruins almost a month into the season, but it appears that’s about to change. The 28-year-old took full line rushes with the Bruins at practice this morning, indicating a contract signing could come ahead of Monday’s game against the Panthers.

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound winger is expected to make his return to Beantown in a fourth-line role with John Beecher and Oskar Steen if he does sign, with Patrick Brown sitting out. The Bruins currently have nearly $1.5MM in cap space to play with – forward Milan Lucic is on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, giving GM Don Sweeney some flexibility he’s yet to have this season. Heinen, a fourth-round pick of the Bruins in 2014, amassed 103 points in 220 contests with the team before they traded him to the Ducks during the 2019-20 season.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this morning:

  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield returned to practice today for the first time since sustaining a foot injury early this month, according to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. However, he’s not yet ready to return to game action and will miss an eighth straight game against the Red Wings tonight, instead likely aiming for a return against the Capitals on Thursday. The 6-foot-5 defender, already 30 years old, is beginning a seven-year extension earning him $3.5MM per season. The Islanders are off to a decent 4-2-1 start but have struggled to control play, and their 48.3% expected goals share (per MoneyPuck) ranks 22nd in the league. They’ve yet again received spectacular netminding from Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
  • The Penguins have once again recalled Vinnie Hinostroza and Radim Zohorna from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and they participated in practice this morning, per Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff. The two were papered down after the Penguins’ last game, helping the team bank cap space on off days while netminder Alex Nedeljkovic remains on LTIR. Zohorna has two points through four contests this season, while Hinostroza has yet to make his Penguins debut.

Minor Transactions: 10/28/23

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It’s a relatively light Saturday across the NHL with nine games on the schedule.  We’ll keep track of any minor roster news here plus any NHL-related transactions across the hockey world.

  • Per CapFriendly (Twitter links), the Penguins have recalled both Radim Zohorna and Vinnie Hinostroza from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The pair were papered down on Friday in a move to drop Pittsburgh out of LTIR for the day, allowing them to bank a bit of cap space.  They’ve been doing these shuffles daily lately which should continue for as long as Alex Nedeljkovic is on LTIR.
  • The Bruins’ cap shuffling continues. After bringing up Jesper Boqvist from his paper recall earlier in the day, the team then announced that they’d assigned the forward back to AHL Providence.  The 24-year-old is in his first season with Boston after being non-tendered by New Jersey back in June.  He has played once for the Bruins so far while suiting up in five games at the AHL level, notching two assists.
  • Former NHL blueliner Brandon Manning has inked a one-year contract with IF Bjorkloven in the Swedish Allsvenskan, per a team release. The 33-year-old has played in 255 NHL games over parts of eight seasons, the most recent of which was back in 2019-20 with Edmonton.  Since then, Manning took a year off before spending the past two years in Germany.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

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.

Transaction Notes: Zohorna, Toninato, Honka

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that forward Radim Zohorna has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. In addition, forward Jansen Harkins has cleared waivers and been assigned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Harkins, 26, arrived in Pittsburgh via a waiver claim from the Winnipeg Jets, and has played in four NHL games for the Penguins. He hasn’t registered a point in that span and most recently was playing on head coach Mike Sullivan’s third line alongside Drew O’Connor and Lars Eller.

Harkins has been a stellar AHLer in the past, such as last season when he scored 50 points in just 44 games for the Manitoba Moose, so he’s likely to be an impact forward in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Harkins’ replacement, Zohorna, brings more size to the Penguins’ bottom-six, though he has not produced as well in North America as Harkins has. The Penguins’ bottom-six forwards as a whole have left the team wanting more, so perhaps this move will help spark an uptick in form for the Penguins’ bottom-sixers.

Some other transaction-related notes from across the NHL:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled veteran center Dominic Toninato from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. With Gabriel Vilardi now out for an extended period, the Jets were in need of a new player to serve as the organization’s 13th forward. Toninato, who has 37 points in his last 52 AHL games, is a reliable veteran pivot for head coach Rick Bowness to work with, and he’s likely to fill in on the team’s fourth line should he end up dressing for games.
  • Carolina Hurricanes defensive prospect Anttoni Honka has been loaned to JYP Jyväskylä of the Finnish Liiga, the club he’s played almost all of his 205-game Liiga career with. The 23-year-old 2019 third-round pick was originally slated to play ECHL hockey with the Norfolk Admirals, but rather than play third-tier hockey in North America he appears to have chosen to return to Finland’s top league. Since the Hurricanes currently do not have an AHL affiliate, the team has struggled to find places in the AHL for its prospects to develop. Honka joins 2020 41st overall pick Noel Gunler as Hurricanes prospects originally sent to the ECHL who have instead elected to continue their development in Europe.

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