PENSBURGH: Pens roster released but remains foggy as more interesting names are been waived
Today was the final day to waive players before the NHL’s regular season rosters are due by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow. The Pittsburgh Penguins opted to waive only forward Boko Imama and, unexpectedly, defenseman Sebastian Aho.
Full list:
Brown, Bussi, Patera, Sweezey, Viel (BOS)
Clague, Reimer, Rousek (BUF)
Cooley, Pelletier, Schwindt (CAL)
Josian Slavin, Smith, Suzuki (CAR)
Phillips (CHI)
Dries, Holl, Lagesson, Rafferty, Snively (DET)
Brown, Caggiula, Lavoie, Rodrigue (EDM)
Copley, Fagemo, Studnicka…— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 6, 2024
Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., we’ll find out if Boko Imama and Sebastian Aho clear waivers, which could lead to their reassignment to the AHL.
With this, it’s clear that bubble players like forward Valtteri Puustinen and defenseman Ryan Shea will be on the NHL’s opening roster, as they would have required waivers to be sent down. The same applies to Jesse Puljujarvi, though that’s not surprising.
What remains uncertain is what the Penguins will do with other fringe players. They have the option to assign Rutger McGroarty and Jack St. Ivany to the AHL tomorrow without needing to waive them. This follows the strategy first highlighted in 2014 by Mike Colligan, which allows teams to start the season under the salary cap, then move injured players like Matt Nieto (and possibly Alex Nedeljkovic) to long-term injured reserve (LTIR) the following day to optimize cap flexibility. This would allow them to recall players like St. Ivany and McGroarty shortly after.
Another decision looming for the Penguins involves Harrison Brunicke, who has yet to be sent back to juniors. There’s no indication yet that he’ll start the season in the NHL, but the fact that no move has been made so far might suggest otherwise.
It’s somewhat surprising that Aho was waived, marking the second straight camp where Ryan Shea has earned a spot on the roster. Shea seems to have carved out a role as a depth defenseman, much like Chad Ruhwedel did in the past.
Currently, the Penguins’ roster, excluding players on injured reserve (**), consists of 24 healthy players—one over the limit—and they’re over the salary cap. They’ll need to make additional moves before tomorrow’s roster deadline.
To resolve this, Pittsburgh has a couple of options:
1. **The simple route**: Send Brunicke to juniors to meet the 23-player limit, then use LTIR to become cap compliant from day one.
2. **The more complex route**: Send McGroarty and St. Ivany to the AHL tomorrow to get under the limit, use LTIR on Tuesday, and then recall those players in time for the first game.
Today’s moves don’t clarify the Penguins’ final plans, but it seems likely they will make some paper transactions, gain cap compliance, and utilize LTIR next week. The NHL’s salary cap rules offer multiple paths to that end.