Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea, placed on waivers Thursday by the club and cleared Friday, was formally re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Saturday.
Shea arrives with one game left in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s regular season, an away contest Saturday evening at the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Unlike their NHL parent affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (38-24-8) are soon headed to the playoffs, having already clinched a postseason berth in early April.
If the Penguins win Saturday evening, they will secure the No. 3 seed within the Atlantic Division and face No. 6 Lehigh Valley in a three-game first-round series.
The Charlotte Checkers, with two games left in the regular season, could jump the Penguins by winning out and the Penguins losing Saturday.
In that scenario, the Penguins would then play the Hartford Wolf Pack in Round 1.
Shea reunites with forwards Radim Zohorna and Valtteri Puustinen as well as blueliner Jack St. Ivany, all of whom were recently reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to help the club’s playoff run.
Shea, who made his NHL debut with the Penguins in October, saw action in 31 games this year, scoring one goal while averaging 12 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time, primarily on the third defensive pairing.
He appeared in 22 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over the course of the year.
The 27-year-old will soon complete a one-year, $775,000 deal signed this past offseason.
