The Penguins on Monday put recently acquired defenseman Egor Zamula on waivers for purposes of contract termination.
Zamula was acquired from the Flyers on Dec. 31 in exchange Phil Tomasino. He had been playing with the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley prior to the trade, and so was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after the trade. He failed to report to Wilkes-Barre and was suspended by the team on Saturday.
For Zamula's contract to be terminated like this, both he and the Penguins would have to agree. If he wanted to just return home to Russia, he really wouldn't need his contract terminated because the KHL and NHL have no transfer agreement and the KHL has shown it does not respect NHL contracts. Zamula agreeing to have his contract terminated might mean that he's going to seek NHL opportunities elsewhere, but his current $1.7 million cap hit is a hindrance.
When Zamula's contract is terminated, it will free up a contract spot and bring the Penguins back down to 47 toward the 50-contract limit. He counted only $550,000 toward the cap while in the AHL.
In speaking with people around the team, it sounded like the Penguins weren't overly concerned with whether Zamula would report after the trade. Either he showed up and they got more defensive depth, or it would come to a contract termination and they would get the flexibility of a new contract slot which could prove to be just as beneficial for future moves. The young forward depth they have in Wilkes-Barre made Tomasino expendable.
THE ASYLUM
Zamula's deal to be terminated
The Penguins on Monday put recently acquired defenseman Egor Zamula on waivers for purposes of contract termination.
Zamula was acquired from the Flyers on Dec. 31 in exchange Phil Tomasino. He had been playing with the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley prior to the trade, and so was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after the trade. He failed to report to Wilkes-Barre and was suspended by the team on Saturday.
For Zamula's contract to be terminated like this, both he and the Penguins would have to agree. If he wanted to just return home to Russia, he really wouldn't need his contract terminated because the KHL and NHL have no transfer agreement and the KHL has shown it does not respect NHL contracts. Zamula agreeing to have his contract terminated might mean that he's going to seek NHL opportunities elsewhere, but his current $1.7 million cap hit is a hindrance.
When Zamula's contract is terminated, it will free up a contract spot and bring the Penguins back down to 47 toward the 50-contract limit. He counted only $550,000 toward the cap while in the AHL.
In speaking with people around the team, it sounded like the Penguins weren't overly concerned with whether Zamula would report after the trade. Either he showed up and they got more defensive depth, or it would come to a contract termination and they would get the flexibility of a new contract slot which could prove to be just as beneficial for future moves. The young forward depth they have in Wilkes-Barre made Tomasino expendable.
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