Former Pittsburgh Penguin Surprisingly Placed on Waivers

Unexpectedly, a longtime defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins who currently plays for the Rangers was placed on waivers today in order to be reassigned.

The New York Rangers have placed veteran defenseman Chad Ruhwedel on waivers with the goal of sending him to their AHL affiliate in Hartford, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. This implies that as the Rangers continue to experiment with their defensive lineup in the early going of the season, they are hoping to rearrange their depth chart.

Naturally, if Ruhhedel clears waivers, this would be his first AHL appearance since the 2018-19 campaign. The 34-year-old defenseman has played the Pittsburgh Penguins for the vast majority of his NHL career and has mostly been a healthy scratch or bottom-pairing player. After graduating from UMass-Lowell undrafted, Ruhwedel signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Sabres in 2013 to make his league debut. He established himself as a reliable, stay-at-home type when he joined the Penguins in 2016 after his opportunities with Buffalo were limited.

Ruhwedel has made contributions during his tenure with the Penguins in both the NHL and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the team's top minor league affiliate, where he has appeared in 33 games. He has participated in 326 NHL games, scoring 47 points and logging 90 penalty minutes. With an average of 1.73 hits per game, he is a physically strong player. He was traded to the Rangers in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft pick because the Penguins missed the 2023 playoffs and his contract was about to expire.

He has only made one appearance for the Rangers in 2024-25 thus far. On October 19, he started against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the Blueshirts' 4-1 victory, the seasoned blueliner played 17 shifts for a total of 14:04 on the ice, posting a plus/minus of +2. He hadn't played in the NHL since March 28 of the previous season.