Penguins Clear Cap Space; Place Riikola, Sceviour on Waivers

The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly cleared cap space on Saturday, about 48 hours before the Monday NHL trade deadline. The Penguins cleared about $2.3 million of figurative space by putting defenseman Juuso Riikola and forward Colton Sceviour on waivers, per Sportsnet report Chris Johnston.

Riikola, 27, has played just 75 games over the past three seasons. He has 12 career points (3g, 9a). The undrafted Finnish free agent, who signed with the Penguins before the 2018-19 season after six seasons in the SM-liiga, has been a consistent healthy scratch. Last season, injuries forced the Penguins to dress Riikola as forward for a couple of games, too.

Being waved does not mean the Penguins have cut ties with either Riikola or Sceviour, but it does mean they can assign them to the taxi squad or the WBS Penguins if one or both clears at noon on Sunday.

Sceviour, 31, became part of the Patric Hornqvist trade last October when the Penguins dealt Hornqvist to Florida for defenseman Mike Matheson.

The fourth-liner Sceviour makes $1.2 million, which expires after this season. Riikola is in the first year of a two-year, $2.3 million deal.

PHN will have full coverage of the NHL trade deadline beginning Sunday and a live blog all day Monday. We added one name to keep an eye on, LA Kings LW Alex Iaffalo. We’ve also profiled the available forwards who would fit President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke’s desire for more toughness in the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup.

The Penguins have won six of their last eight games and two in a row after beating the New Jersey Devils 6-4 on Friday night. The Penguins and Devils rumble again on Sunday.

We’ll let fans decide how best the Penguins trade deadline cash should be spent. According to CapFriendly.com, the Penguins currently have about $1.144 million in deadline cap space.

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