Penguins forward Brock McGinn and defenseman Mark Friedman each cleared waivers Wednesday afternoon and were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) by the evening. .

Those transactions cleared some valuable salary cap space as the NHL trade deadline approaches at 3 p.m. Friday.

McGinn is in the second year of a four-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $2.75 million. With him on the AHL roster, the Penguins are able to remove $1.125 million of his cap hit from their books while $1.625 million would remain.

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Appearing in all 60 of the team’s games this season, McGinn has 16 points (10 goals, six assists) while averaging 13:11 of ice time per contest. During a 3-1 road win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, McGinn recorded an assist, snapping a 26-game slump without a point.

As for Friedman, he is in the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000. That entire figure has been cleared from the Penguins’ books.

A scratch for the past seven games, primarily due to an undisclosed injury, Friedman has played in 11 games this season and has one goal while clocking 15:27 of ice time per contest.

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