PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Pens added some depth while giving a defenseman an opportunity to play elsewhere in a trade made on Tuesday.
Pens traded defenseman Mark Friedman and minor-league forward Ty Glover to the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Jack Rathbone, who will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL, and forward Karel Plasek, who goes to Wheeling in the ECHL.
Friedman played the last dozen games for the Pens last year and was a favorite of former GM Ron Hextall. While with the team initially, Friedman was sent to the minors and barring injury, wouldn’t get the opportunity again with the Pens. At 6’3”, 200 pounds, Glover is a physical forward with 12 points in 49 games in the AHL last year.
Vancouver’s fourth-round pick in 2017, Rathbone adds to the depth at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that already includes Ty Smith and Taylor Fedun. The 5’10”, 177 pounder has played 28 career NHL games with two goals and three assists. He was named to the AHL All-Rookie team in 2021-22 after 10 goals and 30 assists in 39 games. In two seasons at Harvard, 14 goals and 39 assists in 61 games.
The 6’, 181-pound Plasek was a 2019 sixth-round pick by the Canucks. The 23-year-old is a native of Czechia where he’s played in a pair of World Junior Championships and the U-18 Junior Championship.