The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Brock McGinn and defenseman Mark Friedman on waivers.
McGinn has played 59 games for the Penguins this season, scoring 10 goals and 15 points at -1 odds. Friedman split the season between Pittsburgh and the Penguins’ AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barrie Scranton Penguins. In 11 games with the Penguins this year, he has scored one goal. He has five points in 19 AHL games and a plus-5 differential.
As the NHL heads toward the March 3 trade deadline, the Penguins are positioning themselves to make moves. According to CapFriendly.com, Pittsburgh has budgeted $474,000 in cap space this season. The team tries to withdraw money with three days before the deadline.
Mark Friedman still has two years left on his contract with an AAV of $775,000 a year. It’s not a huge salary, but it could do a lot for the team if claimed or sent to the miners.
Brock McGinn is a bit of a surprise because he’s a veteran player and a solid last-six player. The 29-year-old winger earns $2,750,000 a year until 2024-25. McGinn is a good contributor, but is also the odd man for the Penguins’ deadline plans.
McGinn’s contract is tricky because if he goes unclaimed and is sent back to the minors, the team will still have to pay more than $1.6 million this year. That’s a lot of money to pay for a guy who wouldn’t even be in the NHL.
McGinn ranked 37th on Frank Seravalli’s most recent trade target list. The Penguins have already dropped Kasperi Kapanen on waivers in St. Louis and McGinn could be the next player out.
McGinn has 143 points in 468 career NHL games and Friedman has 10 points in 53 career games.
