Friedman, Smith re-assigned; Penguins pass on reclaiming Zohorna

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Penguins did not reclaim forward Radim Zohorna off waivers from the Flames before Sunday's 2 p.m. deadline.

Because the Penguins had Zohorna first this season, they had the option to reclaim Zohorna and assign him directly to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if they were the only claim, which would not have resulted in Zohorna counting toward the Penguins' salary cap. They did not reclaim him, and Zohorna cleared waivers and can now be sent to the Flames' AHL affiliate.

A possible explanation for the Penguins passing on reclaiming Zohorna is that there was a risk of a claim backfiring. The only way they would have been able to claim him and send him straight to Wilkes-Barre was if they were the only claim. If the Penguins had put in a claim and a team that was better than them in the standings last season also put in a claim, the Penguins would have been awarded Zohorna but would not have been able to send him down. Since Sunday was the deadline to put players on waivers in order to get them off the roster before season-opening rosters are due at 5 p.m. on Monday, the aforementioned scenario would have resulted in the Penguins being stuck with Zohorna on the NHL roster through that Monday deadline. The only option to get cap-compliant before the deadline would have been a last-minute trade.

Zohorna appeared in two preseason games for the Flames in a bottom-six role. He recorded a primary assist in the latter of the two games:

Zohorna spoke earlier this week about his excitement over being claimed by Calgary -- not necessarily because he wanted out of the Penguins' organization, but rather that he was happy another NHL team was giving him an opportunity to play at that level.

"I was happy, I was really happy," Zohorna said on Wednesday. "I wanted to get an opportunity with a team and just be myself. I know I can be an NHL player full-time. Now I'm here, and I'm so happy I'm here."

Mark Friedman, who was also placed on waivers on Saturday, cleared waivers by Sunday at 2 p.m. and was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre.

Mike Sullivan said after practice on Sunday that the decision to put Friedman on waivers was an "extremely difficult" one.

"Frieds is a solid defenseman for us and has played real good hockey for us," Sullivan said. "These decisions are extremely difficult. I just think that's part of the business. We're trying to get a cap compliant roster, and we knew we had some difficult decisions that were approaching. We tried to do our very best to provide enough opportunity for everybody to bring their best game. It's our challenge as a coaching staff and a management group to try to make the best decisions for the team."

Both Sullivan and Ron Hextall spoke with Friedman about the decision.

"I had a good conversation with Frieds yesterday," Sullivan said. "We have so much respect for him as a player and a person and what he brings to our team. The challenge we have is we feel as though we've got nine NHL defenseman, and so that that's the hard part. It's a good challenge to have, because it suggests that we're deep with NHL defenseman. But the decisions are difficult, it also affects people. Those aren't easy conversations for us to have because we respect these guys and how hard they work and how much they care. That's the business that we all signed up for, it doesn't make it any easier. That's the hard part."

Sullivan did say that he believes Friedman is understanding of the circumstances.

"He gets it," Sullivan said. "We're pretty straightforward with our guys. We try to be honest with him and straightforward with him and explain the whys. That's the best that we can do. I think Friedman understands it, and we certainly value what he brings to this team. He's been a very good player for us, and we're hopeful that he continues to be a player for us."

The Penguins also re-assigned Ty Smith -- who is exempt from waivers -- to Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

The Friedman and Smith re-assignments give the Penguins a 22-man roster that is $83,158 under the salary cap. The deadline for teams to be cap-compliant is Monday at 5 p.m.,