About 24 hours after he was acquired in a trade, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Karel Plasek on waivers Wednesday for the purposes of terminating his contract.
Assuming no other team claims Plasek, the Penguins can formally cut ties with him after 2 p.m. Thursday.
At the moment, the Penguins have 49 players signed to NHL contracts for the 2023-24 season, one less than the league’s limit of 50. Plasek’s pending departure will create some flexibility for any future transactions, such as a trade.
On Monday, the Penguins acquired Plasek and defenseman Jack Rathbone from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Mark Friedman and forward Ty Glover.
Plasek, 23, was a sixth-round selection (No. 175 overall) of the Canucks in 2019 and is in the final year of a three-year entry-level contract that carries a salary cap hit of $846,667.
The left-handed Plasek (5-foot-11, 154 pounds) has yet to play in any games this season at any level. After being acquired via Tuesday’s trade, he was assigned to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.
Last season, the Prerov, Czechia native was loaned to HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga and appeared in 31 games, posting 15 points (six goals, nine assists). To date, his only professional experience in North America came in the form of eight games and no points with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks in 2021-22.
