Former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula has been suspended by the Pittsburgh Penguins organization before spending a single second on the ice for his new club.
On Saturday, the AHL transactions log reflected a new entry showing that Zamula, 25, had been suspended by the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
The ex-Flyers defender has yet to appear in a single game since being traded by Philadelphia on Dec. 31 and is currently believed to be refusing to report to the Penguins.
Zamula was officially registered as a Wilkes-Barre player the same day of the trade, per the transactions log.
Update: according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, Zamula was suspended for failure to report.
It is worth noting that the formerly undrafted Russian recently switched agents and began being represented by Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, which occurred shortly after the Flyers assigned Zamula to the AHL.
The goal, we can only assume, was to find Zamula an opportunity to play in the NHL, but that is clearly something that was not being afforded by the Penguins right away.
Flyers Defenseman Benched After Struggles, Agent's Criticism of Team
Just two games into the season, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> defenseman Egor Zamula has already been benched for his continued struggles.
Previously, it was reported that Zamula's camp offered a mutual contract termination to the Flyers as a potential solution to the situation, but that the Flyers had preferred a trade for a player to help the organization.
They got that in Phil Tomasino, but it would appear that Zamula and/or Milstein aren't happy with the final outcome of the trade.
Earlier in the season, Penguins prospect Emil Pieniniemi had also been suspended after refusing to report to the ECHL Wheeling Nailers, though that suspension has been since lifted.
The 25-year-old Zamula has one year remaining on his contract at a $1.7 million cap hit and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2025-26 season.