Longtime NHL forward John LeClair was assigned to the minors by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday for the second time this month.
LeClair was placed on waivers last week but was not claimed by
another team. The Penguins then assigned him to
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL before putting him on re-entry
waivers, which would have required any club claiming him to pay half
of the remaining share of his US$1.5 million salary.
After the 37-year-old left wing cleared those waivers, the Penguins reassigned him to Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, but he is not expected to report there. The Penguins may pass him through re-entry waivers again later this season if it appears a team in need of a forward might claim him.
LeClair has two goals and five assists in 21 games this season. He has 406 goals and 413 assists in 987 NHL games, mostly with Montreal and Philadelphia.
LeClair was the Penguins' third-leading scorer with 51 points in the 2005-06 season after signing a two-year contract, but his playing time was cut this season after the Penguins added rookie forwards Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
