Penguins Claim John Ludvig from Florida; Their Players Clear
The Pittsburgh Penguins claimed defenseman John Ludvig off waivers from Florida Monday.
They also learned that all five of the players they put on waivers Sunday — forwards Radim Zohorna, Colin White and Vinnie Hinostroza, defenseman Mark Friedman and goalie Magnus Hellberg — made it through unclaimed.
Ludvig, 23, is 6-foot-1, 213 pounds and was the Panthers’ third-round draft choice in 2019. He is a defensive defenseman who has a physical edge to his game.
“There is an edge to his game, a physicality to his game that we can’t really find in practices,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice told Florida Hockey Now during training camp. “It has to be found in real games against real opponents.”
Ludvig, whose two-year contract carries a salary-cap hit of $775,000, spent his first three pro seasons in the American Hockey League. He had three goals, 14 assists and 72 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Panthers’ farm team in Charlotte in 2022-23.
Zohorna was believed to be a candidate to be the 13th forward on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ regular-season roster, but the addition of Ludvig does not leave them with enough salary-cap space to retain him when their cap-compliant roster was submitted to the league office by the 5 p.m. deadline today.
The Penguins assigned all five players who made it through waivers to their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, along with goaltender Garrett Sparks, who has an American Hockey League contract.
Categorized:Penguins
Zahorna needs to be on the roster and he needs to play.
It has been an uphill battle since he came to north America. I agree, he deserves a shot at an NHL job, but 32 NHL GMs disagree. I trust that they all know more than I do.
Great pickup! Let him and POJ battle it out for LHD on 3rd pairing. Physical dude, and that’ll be a stark contrast as these two battle it out for that spot in the months ahead.
That pushes Shea to WBS where he belongs. That likely means Big Z or someone else comes back up as 13th FWD.
I love the way KD thinks!
I saw somewhere he was an amateur boxer as a kid
I looked up some John Ludvig videos because I knew nothing about him and he is very tough. I’m glad to see Kyle Dubas will acquire tough players unlike the previous GM.
Maybe Crosby fighting put a scare into KD?
Yes, and hopefully Sully will give him ice time when his opportunity arises.
True that!