The Pittsburgh Penguins made one very obvious move official Thursday morning but also recalled a 13th forward who could provide some lineup help. The team announced they’ve recalled Radim Zohorna and Vinnie Hinostroza.
As expected, the team returned Corey Andonovski to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as part of Zohorna’s recall. The Penguins recalled Andonovski Wednesday because he makes $150,000 more than Zohorna, and that salary difference got the Penguins to the edge of the salary cap limit, allowing them to maximize salary cap space when they placed goalie Alex Nedeljkovic on LTIR.
Zohorna has sparked the third line with Lars Eller and Drew O’Connor. Zohorna has one goal in two games this season.
The Penguins recalled goalie Magnus Hellberg Wednesday, and the salary differential between Nedeljkovic and Hellberg, created enough cap space to recall Hinostroza, who will be the 13th forward on the roster.
Hinostroza, 29, has 360 games of NHL experience in his eight-year career. He’s known for his blazing speed and defensive responsibility. He gives coach Mike Sullivan a reliable option for the ineffective fourth-line combinations. Hinostroza could be in the lineup Thursday when the Penguins host the Colorado Avalanche at PPG Paints Arena. However, he played Wednesday night for the WBS Penguins.
The Penguins’ fourth line with Jeff Carter, Matt Nieto, and Noel Acciari has struggled this season, not scoring a point and yielding a couple of goals.
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