Report: Penguins place defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers

The Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers Wednesday afternoon, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The 27-year-old played 23 games with the Penguins this season, scoring a goal and two assists in a campaign spent between Pittsburgh and the club’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Friedman (PIT) on waivers

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 12, 2023

Friedman was originally acquired off of waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers in early 2021 in what was general manager Ron Hextall’s first transactional move with the Penguins.

This marks the third time this season that he has been placed on waivers, having cleared back in October and again shortly before the NHL trade deadline in late February.

In parts of three seasons in Pittsburgh, Friedman appeared in 54 games. He set a career-high in 2021-22 with 26 games played and five points (one goal, four assists).

The move comes as a result of fellow defenseman Marcus Pettersson’s presumed activation from long-term injured reserve (LTIR) ahead of the Penguins’ regular-season finale Thursday night in Columbus.

Pettersson, whose LTIR designation is retroactive to March 18, has a salary cap hit of $4,025,175.

Were Friedman to clear waivers again, allowing for his reassignment to Wilkes/Barre-Scranton, the Penguins would gain the entirety of his $775,000 salary in cleared cap space.

That would give the Penguins $4,300,175 in available cap space, per Cap Friendly, enough to reactivate Pettersson.

Fellow NHL clubs have until 2 p.m. Thursday, to claim Friedman, or he will be sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Any team that picks up Friedman would take on the entirety of his salary.