That sound you heard outside your door today up in the general direction of Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre today was the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins loading up after the announcement from parent Pittsburgh that Forward Eric Tangradi and Defensemen Andrew Hutchinson were re-assigned here this morning.
Hutchinson is not subject to re-entry waivers, and the best explanation as to why was explained by WBS Beat Writer Jonathan Bombuilie last week on his blog:
I did some digging and I’m pretty sure Hutchinson is not subject to re-entry waivers at any point this season because he qualifies as what the CBA calls a “Veteran Minor League Player.” If a player has at least 320 career high-level pro games (Hutchinson has 490) and he hasn’t played in 40 NHL games last season (he played none) or 80 NHL games in the last two seasons (he played 40), he is a Veteran Minor League Player and is not subject to re-entry waivers.
Tangradi doesn’t need to clear because he’s on a two-way contract. There is more to it but for simplicity’s sake, that’s the best explanation.
What does it do to the lines? Glad you asked. I’m no coach, but based off of what I have seen here’s my best guess:
Sterling-Jeffrey-Tangradi
Conner-Craig-Johnson
Walker-Vitale-Veilleux
Boulerice-Lerg-Wallace
Ex: Schnell, Sill, Collins
Hutchinson-Wagner
Strait-Bortuzzo
Mormina-Potter
ex., Petersen, Sneep, Fata
Thiessen-Curry
These lines are on the assumption that Sterling is OK to play Friday in Glens Falls. It does Nick Petersen, Carl Sneep and Ryan Schnell no good to sit in the stands when they can easily be shipped to The Nail. So you keep Zach Sill as the extra forward, maybe Sneep as the extra D and release Drew Fata.
The thing is that it’s good problem to have if you are Head Coach John Hynes because you have a plethora of options at forward. Maybe on the fourth line you center Collins with Wallace and Sill / Boulerice and sit Lerg. Again I am no expert when it comes to these things, so feel free to disagree in the comment section. That’s why it’s there.
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