Penguins Suspend Newly Acquired Defenseman

If fans have been paying attention to the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, this one might sound a bit familiar. 

On Saturday, the Penguins suspended newly acquired defenseman Egor Zamula after the 6-foot-3, 200-pound blueliner failed to report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS), Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate. Zamula, 25, was acquired Dec. 31 from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Philip Tomasino.

Zamula appeared in 13 games for the Flyers this season and registered one assist as well as a plus-4. He also spent three games playing with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, where he had two assists and was a minus-3.

In 168 games with Philadelphia across six seasons, he has eight goals and 41 points and is a minus-12. The Chelyabinsk, Russia native is a pending restricted free agent this season, and he is in the second year of a two-year deal that pays him $1.7 million annually. 

As for why this might sound familiar? Zamura is the second defenseman in the Penguins' organization this season to be suspended for failing to report to an affiliate club, as prospect Emil Pieniniemi did the same following training camp. Pieniniemi was supposed to report to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, but he never showed and went back to Finland instead. 

Pieniniemi, 20, was selected in the third round (91st overall) by the Penguins in 2023, and he has since reported to Wheeling, where he has played in two games. 

Takeaways: Penguins Put Up Defensive Clinic Against Red Wings, Sweep Home-And-HomeThe Pittsburgh Penguins put together arguably their best performance of the season on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.

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