NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Penguins are again turning to the waiver wire to clear cap space.
To what end, exactly, remains to be seen.
Ron Hextall on Tuesday put Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman on waivers Tuesday for the waiver period that runs through 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
The moves come three days after Kasperi Kapanen was placed on waivers and claimed by the Blues, a move that cleared $3.2 million in cap space for the Penguins. With McGinn and Friedman both hitting the waiver wire, there's now the potential to clear some serious cap space ahead of the NHL's March 3 trade deadline.
Per PuckPedia, the Penguins currently have enough cap space to take on $1.9 million in cap hits. Since they don't have any players on long-term injured reserve and are operating under the salary cap, they are also banking unused daily cap space for each day that they operate under the cap. If they stick with the current roster through the trade deadline, that $1.9 million in space will grow to $2.1 million.
Whether Friedman is claimed off waivers or clears and is assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the impact is the same: His $775,000 cap hit comes off of the Penguins' books.
With McGinn, there are two possible scenarios. If he is claimed, as with Kapanen, his entire $2.75 million cap hit comes off of the Penguins' books. If he clears, only the first $1.125 million gets freed up, and the remaining cap hit stays on as dead cap.
That means that the moves today have the potential to give the Penguins salary cap space in the range of $4-$5.7 million come deadline day, numbers contingent on what happens with McGinn and what happens with any potential recalls eating into that banked cap space.
Being on waivers doesn't preclude a player from playing in a game before the waiver period ends. McGinn is eligible to play in the Penguins game against the Predators tonight, and the Penguins' line rushes at the morning skate suggest that McGinn will indeed play and remain on his spot on the Penguins' third line. Friedman's placement on waivers suggests that he's now healthy and recovered from his injury, because injured players cannot be assigned to the minors. He didn't take regular line rushes in the Penguins' morning skate, however, instead skating on an extra fourth defense pairing alongside Chad Ruhwedel.
McGinn, 29, has two full years remaining on his contract that carries a $2.75 million cap hit. He has 10 goals and five assists in 59 games this year and has not recorded a point in his last 26 games.
Friedman, 27, is in the first year of his two-year contract extension that carries a $775,000 cap hit. He has one goal in his 11 NHL games this season, and one goal and four assists in 19 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Wilkes-Barre's next game is Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Hershey, though it seems unlikely that any players who clear would make it there in time for the game. Wilkes-Barre plays a two-game series in Cleveland afterward, including a March 4 outdoor game at the Browns' FirstEnergy Stadium.
