Penguins place Joona Koppanen on waivers

The Pittsburgh Penguins have waived left winger Joona Koppanen, according to PuckPedia.

Through 10 appearances with the Penguins this season, the 27-year-old Finnish-born forward has scored once while registering a minus-three rating. On the season, the majority of Koppanen’s playing time has come with the AHL affiliated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in which he has tallied seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points coupled with 24 penalty minutes and a plus-four mark in 55 outings.

Originally chosen by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, Koppanen has totaled 19 NHL appearances in which he has recorded one goal and one assist for two points. At the AHL level, Koppanen has seen 358 career contests over eight seasons in which he has notched 52 goals and 84 assists for 136 points. With the Providence Bruins in 2022-23, Koppanen reached a career-high 35 points counting 12 goals and 23 assists coming in 64 games. Koppanen has also registered six points over 12 games and two seasons at the ECHL level.

Koppanen originally joined the Penguins in 2023 as an unrestricted free agent.

Prior to competing in North America, Koppanen saw success in international competition, most recently at the 2018 World Juniors where through five outings he scored three times and added one assist for four points to earn recognition as a top-three player for Finland. Koppanen also joined the Finns at the 2016 IIHF Under-18 World Championship where he helped the squad to a gold-medal victory.

Per PuckPedia, Koppanen is in the final year of a two-year contract that carries a $775,000 annual average value and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason.

For the Penguins, on the season the club sits 33-36-12 with its final regular-season game coming Thursday against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals. The 2024-25 campaign marks the third-straight season in which the Penguins will not participate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.