Penguins assign forward Jonathan Gruden to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton shortly after recalling him
The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forward Jonathan Gruden to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Tuesday. They also recalled him from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday.
The transactions happened not even five hours apart from one another. The team announced Gruden’s recall at 10:32 a.m. then his assignment at 3:10 p.m.
The reason for the transactions is not apparent, publicly, at least.
In 12 AHL games this season, the left-handed Gruden (6-foot, 190 pounds) has three points (two goals, one assist). He is signed to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000.
During the preseason, Gruden, 23, appeared in two NHL contests and scored a goal.
Last season, Gruden made his NHL debut by playing in three regular season games and did not score a point while logging 5:20 of ice time per contest.
The Penguins acquired Gruden in October of 2020 as part of a trade that sent goaltender Matt Murray to the Ottawa Senators.
Elsewhere within the organization, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins recalled forwards Justin Addamo and Jordan Frasca from Wheeling of the ECHL while goaltender Taylor Gauthier and defenseman Justin Lee were assigned to Wheeling.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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