That means there’s bound to be a flurry of cuts and reassignments to minor-league affiliates leading into early next week.
The Penguins were active on both those fronts Friday ahead of their final preseason game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena.
Forwards Corey Andonovski, Tristan Broz and Ville Koivunen plus defenseman Owen Pickering were all assigned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League.
All saw significant action this preseason.
Pickering, the Penguins’ first-round (No. 22 overall) draft pick in 2022, skated in four games, collecting an assist, while Broz, a second-rounder (No. 58 overall) in 2021, recorded three assists in three games.
Koivunen, an intriguing prospect who arrived from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the Jake Guentzel trade, posted two assists in three games.
The 25-year-old Andonovski appeared in two games this preseason and enters his fourth season in the Penguins organization.
Pickering, 20, and Broz, 21, are both in the first season of three-year entry-level contracts.
Pickering, who carries a salary cap hit of $886,667, signed his in 2022 but delayed its term from commencing because of time remaining with his junior club, the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League.
Broz turned pro out of the University of Denver this spring and is making $925,000 annually.
As for Koivunen, 21, he signed his entry-level deal with Carolina in 2021, but his contract didn’t begin until 2022-23 because he was playing overseas in Finland.
This year, his salary cap hit is $805,833.
As for Andonovski, he is on a one-year deal through 2024-25 worth $775,000 annually.
