THE CANADIAN PRESS
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward Mark Recchi on re-entry waivers Friday. He was assigned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Thursday, one day after clearing waivers.
Other NHL teams now have the option of claiming Recchi for half of his US$1.75-million contract with the Penguins paying the other half.
While some reports have suggested the Carolina Hurricanes were interested in putting a waiver claim for the veteran forward, a source told Sportsnet that the team is not able to drop a player from its current roster to make room for Recchi.
The Hurricanes were very interested in re-acquiring Recchi, who was part of their 2006 Stanley Cup team, but haven’t been able to move a body from their 23-man roster.
Penguins coach Michel Therrien said this week that the Penguins’ younger players deserved more ice time than Recchi, who will turn 40 in February. Recchi was scratched for six consecutive games before being waived.
"We believe we gave him an opportunity," Therrien said. "It didn’t work out."
Recchi, with Pittsburgh for the third time in his career, has two goals and six assists in 19 games. He will be an unrestricted free agent July 1.
