The Penguins are getting healthy, which is great, but it also means making extra efforts to balance salary cap complications and finding homes for all involved. Friday, the attention-grabbing move was trading Erik Gudbranson to create a roster spot and save salary space.
Zach Trotman was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Monday for a conditioning assignment, but was waived Friday to clear additional space beyond that period. He cleared waivers today and is now eligible to be assigned to the AHL roster instead of the 14 days the conditioning period would have allowed.
As our Taylor Haase reported when Trotman was waived, he'd be a welcome addition to the Wilkes-Barre roster with Kevin Czuczman dealing with an injury after taking a puck to the face and Pierre-Olivier Joseph being out for an extended period with mononucleosis.
Trotman is yet to play a game this season after undergoing sports hernia surgery during training camp, but is a welcome depth option in the system should the Penguins need him again. He played three games for the Penguins in the 2017-18 season and was needed for 13 during 2018-19. He has one assist over those 16 games.
