The Pittsburgh Penguins assigned forwards Drew O’Connor and Drake Caggiula to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Friday.

These transactions come as the NHL’s trade deadline approaches at 3 p.m. Additionally, in order for players to be eligible for the AHL’s postseason, they must be assigned to their respective club’s AHL affiliate by 3 p.m., as well.

With respect to the Penguins, these maneuvers potentially clear sufficient salary cap space for the club to finalize a reported trade for former forward Nick Bonino. The team has reportedly agreed to a deal with the San Jose Sharks that will bring the bottom-six center back to Pittsburgh.

According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins now have $1,901,214 of salary cap space after assigning O’Connor and Caggiula to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

O’Connor has set career highs this season with 27 games, five goals and eight points while logging an average of 9:05 of ice time per contest.

During a 5-4 overtime road win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, O’Connor scored a go-ahead goal in the third period that gave the Penguins a 4-3 lead by utilizing his size (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) to cut by Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh off the right wing then attack the net, lifting a wrister over the glove of All-Star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

A day after long-time fourth-line center Teddy Blueger was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, O’Connor occupied that station on Thursday and logged 8:51 of ice time on 13 shifts, including 1:10 on the penalty kill and was credited with two shots (on two attempts) while going 3 for 5 on faceoffs (60 %).

Frequently shuffled between the NHL and AHL rosters through his first three seasons, O’Connor had been on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster since his most recent recall Dec. 14.

In 20 AHL games this season, O’Connor has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists).

Caggiula has played in only four NHL games this season, most recently on Thursday. Recalled earlier in the day, he logged 4:01 of ice time on five shifts in his first NHL contest since Oct. 28.

With Wilkes-Bare/Scranton, Caggiula is that team’s third-leading scorer with 37 points (12 goals, 25 assists).

O’Connor and Caggiula are each signed to one-year contracts that carry identical salary cap hits of $750,00. While O’Connor’s deal is a one-way contract, Caggiula’s is a two-way agreement.

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