For the second time in a few days, the Pittsburgh Penguins have swung a trade for a player 25 and under, this time acquiring embattled defenseman Egor Zamula from the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Penguins traded Philip Tomasino to Philly in exchange. The move is technically a minor-league trade as both Tomasin and Zamula are in the AHL, but both have ample NHL experience.
Zamula will report to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The Penguins acquired Tomasino in November 2024 in exchange for a fourth-round pick from the Nashville Predators. He had fallen out of favor in Nashville, where he was the club’s 2019 first-round pick (24th overall). The Penguins acquired him to give him an extended look in a more prominent role.
Last season, Tomasino had 23 points (11-12-23) in 50 games, but failed to establish himself as an NHL regular. This season, the Penguins waived him on Nov. 18 after posting one assist in nine games.
With WBS, Tomasino had 15 points (5-10-15) in 14 games.
Zamula, 25, is a similar story in which many observers expected more from the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Russian defenseman. He has played 13 NHL games this season, registering just one assist and a plus-4 rating.
The Flyers waived Zamula on Dec. 19.
He will add blue line depth to the left side of the Penguins organization, joining Ryan Graves, Owen Pickering, Alex Alexeyev, and Sebastian Aho as left-handed D-men in WBS. What the trade might mean for the futures of Pickering or Graves is to be determined.
The Penguins re-assigned Graves to WBS Wednesday afternoon when he cleared waivers.
The smooth-skating Zamula put up big numbers in junior hockey, playing in the WHL for the Regina Pats and then the Calgary Hitmen. In 2018-19, he registered 56 points (10-46-56) in 61 games and had 28 points in 28 games in his final junior season.
He also played for Team Russia in the 2020 World Junior Championships, registering five points (2-3-5) in seven games. Overall, Zamula has dressed for 168 NHL games, scoring eight goals with 33 assists.
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Categorized: Penguins Trade Talk