Report: Penguins place journeyman defenseman on waivers after return from injury.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have welcomed back one of their players from injury by tossing him on the waiver wire.

According to a report from National Hockey League insider Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed 27 year old defenseman Kevin Czuczman on waivers Sunday. The news is particularly noteworthy due to the fact that Czuczman has been unable to play a single game as of yet this season as a result of a serious shoulder injury that he suffered, one that required surgery and several long weeks of recovery.

Czuczman was expected to be out until at least the month of December as a result of the injury but the decision to place him on waivers now may be an indication that he is getting closer and closer to being ready to play. Czuczman signed a new one year deal with the Penguins organization this summer worth $650,000 although he spent the entire 2017 - 2018 regular season down in the American Hockey League playing on one of the top pairings for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 

In his most recent season with the AHL Penguins Czuczmanregistered 4 goals and added 31 assists for a total of 35 points over the course of 71 games. He finished with a very solid plus minus rating of +15 as well on the year, another indication that in spite of being a journeyman at this stage of his career he remains a very valuable depth asset to have on your roster. That being said there is some uncertainty regarding whether or not one team will take a look at him given there remains a lot of mystery surrounding his recovery from this most recent injury. 

The decision to put Czuczman on waivers now, while he is still reportedly a month out from being ready to play, may be a ploy on the part of the Penguins who likely believe he is less likely to be claimed while still recovering as opposed to when he will be fit and ready to play. At a very low cost and with a willingness to play hard even when not being used at the NHL level Czuczman could easily be a valuable asset to another team in the NHL looking to add some depth to their blue line.

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