Penguins Place David Gustafsson on Waivers as Roster Cuts Loom

The Pittsburgh Penguins are making their final roster cuts, and David Gustafsson is the latest guy to get caught in the numbers game. According to Elliotte Friedman, the depth center was placed on waivers Saturday afternoon.

When you are a fringe forward trying to crack a veteran-heavy lineup, the waiver wire is basically the NHL's version of being left on read. It is the ultimate "it's not you, it's the salary cap" text message from the front office.

"Elliotte Friedman reported the waiver placement on X."

Pittsburgh has been absolutely rolling lately, which makes cracking the bottom six even harder. They just handled the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 and followed it up by completely dismantling the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0. When a team is clicking like that in the preseason, the margin for error for a guy like Gustafsson shrinks to zero.

Now he enters the 24-hour purgatory of the waiver wire. He just has to sit around and wait to see if another general manager thinks they can unlock his potential, or if he is packing his winter coats for a bus ride to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

It is a brutal waiting game where your immediate future depends entirely on whether a random team out West suddenly realizes they have zero center depth and decides to take a flyer on a free asset.

The Penguins host the Montreal Canadiens tonight before facing the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. By the time the puck drops against the Jets, we will know exactly whose jersey Gustafsson is wearing next.