Penguins trade Philip Tomasino to Flyers for Egor Zamula

The first trade after the holiday roster freeze has finally happened, as the Pittsburgh Penguins have dealt winger Philip Tomasino to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Egor Zamula.

The trade should come as no surprise for the Flyers, as it appeared that Zamula’s days with the Flyers were numbered after he was placed on waivers two weeks ago. While Tomasino won’t have an immediate impact on the Flyers’ roster, as he’ll report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL, he does provide the team with more forward depth down the road.

Similarly, Tomasino ended up not being a fit for the Penguins, as he was placed on waiver in mid-November and has played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ever since. The only intriguing part about this move is that Pittsburgh acquired a defenseman, as they already have seven healthy defensemen on their roster, two more who are injured, along with Mathew Dumba in the AHL.

Tomasino was in his second season with the Penguins after the team had acquired him from the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick. The 2019 24th-overall pick is currently signed to a one-year, $1.75 million contract, and is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season.

Tomasino currently has one assist in nine NHL games this season, along with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 14 games in the AHL.

Zamula is in his sixth season with the Flyers, although only two of them were spent entirely at the NHL level with the Flyers. He’s in the final year of a two-year contract with a $1.7 million cap hit, and will be an RFA with arbitration rights at the end of the season.

Zamula has one assist in 13 games with the Flyers this season, along with two assists in three games in the AHL with the Phantoms.