PENSBURGH: Penguins loose key defensive man through waivers
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost defenseman John Ludvig to the Colorado Avalanche through waivers on Saturday. Meanwhile, six other players, including forwards Emil Bemstrom, Jonathan Gruden, Joona Koppanen, and Sam Poulin, as well as defensemen Nate Clurman and Filip Kral, went unclaimed and were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL. Goaltenders Taylor Gauthier and Filip Larsson were also sent down without requiring waivers.
Ludvig, who joined the Penguins through waivers from the Florida Panthers in October 2023, played 33 NHL games last season, scoring five points and racking up 47 penalty minutes. The 24-year-old, known for his physical play, is entering the final year of his two-year deal with a cap hit of $775,000. His departure leaves the Penguins with 48 contracts, two below the league’s limit of 50.
Hopes remain for Poulin
As a first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2019, Poulin was the most prominent member of the group of players the Penguins exposed to waivers Friday.
In part because of a leave of absence from the organization during the 2022-23 season to address his mental health, Poulin’s development as a player has been a slow process, but management remains optimistic he can still carve out a role as an NHL-er.
Approximately an hour and a half before Poulin cleared waivers, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan offered a lengthy and optimistic audit of the 23-year-old forward.
“Sam has made a lot of strides in his time with the Penguins,” Sullivan said. “The biggest thing is just understanding what his own personal identity is as a player and how he’s going to carve a niche in making an NHL roster and becoming an NHL player. Every young player, when they turn pro, they go through this identity process where some players have to adapt.
“So, if you’re playing in college hockey or you’re playing junior hockey and you’re a point-per-game (player) or you’re the go-to guy on the power play, that might not be the case when you get to the next level. So, if that’s not the case, then what is your competitive advantage? What is it that you’re bringing to the table that is going to help a team win? What’s your contribution to that identity?
“Those are some of the conversations we’ve had with Sam. Just continuing to work on his overall two-way game, his play away from the puck, his play within structure, knowing positional play and things of that nature and the details around that are really important. Because if you’re not scoring 40 goals and 100 points, then you need to be a guy that’s reliable and trustworthy and predictable for your teammates. That’s something that I think is an area of opportunity for growth for Sam.
“He’s very capable and he is obviously a talented player. It’s more just trying to understand how his own personal game needs to adapt or evolve so he has a skillset that is complementary to the group and gives him the opportunity to carve a roster spot. It’s not so much scoring his way onto this roster. It’s being a reliable player and the details around that, it’s a lot of the thankless jobs that maybe go unnoticed. That’s the foundation of how players, in my experience, enter the league. That gives him the ability to act on his talent and his instincts … and his game can evolve.
“Sam is going through that process like most young players go through that process. I don’t think he’s any different in that regard. We’re every bit as encouraged by Sam’s game as we’ve always been. Once again, players evolve at different rates. Some guys take a little bit longer to find their game than others. Sam is going through that process. He’s a talented guy. We think so highly of him, and we believe that he’s a guy that could potentially help this team moving forward.”