Penguins place forward Joona Koppanen on waivers
The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Joona Koppanen on waivers Friday afternoon. Should he go unclaimed by the NHL’s other 31 teams by 2 p.m. Saturday, he can be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
A left-handed shot, Koppanen was recalled to the NHL roster Nov. 6. Exclusively deployed on the left wing of the third and fourth lines, Koppanen has appeared in 10 NHL games and has one assist while averaging 12:25 of ice time per contest.
He has been scratched for the previous two games. During a 4-3 road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Koppanen was sidelined by illness.
Related
• Video review saves Penguins in wild win over Lightning
• Kirk MacDonald is guiding the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to wins (and the NHL)
• Mark Madden: Roster construction, not rink size, should be priority for U.S. Olympic team
Koppanen, 27, previously cleared waivers Oct. 3 and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With the AHL club, Koppanen has been deployed primarily as a bottom-six center. In six AHL games, he has two points (one goal, one assist).
In June, Koppanen re-signed with the Penguins, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.