Penguins place Jeff Petry on long-term injured reserve, recall Mark Friedman, Drew O'Connor
The Penguins placed defenseman Jeff Petry on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Sunday because of a suspected left arm injury.
During the late stages of a 3-1 home win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, Petry was hit into the Penguins’ end boards by Sabres forward Alex Tuch and left the contest holding his left arm.
After the game, Petry was available to media and indicated he was fine.
“It hurt,” Petry said. “But I’m all right.”
The team has not formally identified the specific nature or severity of his injury.
Players on long-term injured reserve must be sidelined for 10 games and 24 days on the NHL calendar. Petry, who was absent for Monday’s 2-1 home win against the Dallas Stars, is not eligible to return to the lineup until a road game against the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 8.
Teams may temporarily relieve themselves of a portion of a player’s salary cap hit while he is designated to long-term injured reserve.
Acquired via trade this past offseason, the right-handed defenseman carries the team’s second-highest salary cap hit of $6.25 million according to Cap Friendly.
Petry, 34, has appeared in 28 games this season and has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) and has averaged 22:20 of ice time per contest.
In corresponding transactions, defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Drew O’Connor were recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Friedman, 26, has appeared in 19 AHL games this season and has five points (one goal, four assists).
A right-handed shot who can play either side of a defensive pairing, Friedman spent two days on the NHL roster this season after a recall Nov. 11 but has yet to appear in an NHL game.
He is in the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000.
For the 24-year-old O’Connor, this is his second recall to the NHL level this season. After being summoned Oct. 31, he appeared in three NHL contests and did not record a point while averaging 8:32 of ice time per contest.
A left-handed shot who primarily plays as a center, O’Connor is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer this season with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 20 games.
He is signed to a one-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $750,000.
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.
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