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.