The Penguins announced (Twitter link) a significant list of cuts today as they work towards getting their season-opening roster in place. Among those are five waiver placements, headed up by veteran defenseman Ryan Graves who will officially hit the wire at 1 PM CT today.
It wasn’t that long ago that the 30-year-old was viewed as a key shutdown defender. Over his two seasons with New Jersey, he went from being a role player (going back to his Colorado days) to a consistent top-four player. That helped earn him a six-year, $27MM contract with Pittsburgh back in 2023 as they were hoping that he could be a defensive anchor for them for a long time.
That hasn’t happened. In the first season of the deal, his offensive numbers dipped to just three goals and 11 assists after two straight years of at least 26 points. On top of that, he struggled in Pittsburgh’s defensive system and started to see his ice time cut later in the year.
That proved to be a sign of things to come for last season. Instead of showing improvement in his second year with the team, things continued to go in the wrong direction. As a result, Graves only got into 61 games (managing just four points) while averaging less than 15 minutes per night as he was deployed as a number-six defender when he was in the lineup.
That led to some speculative talk about a buyout this summer which clearly didn’t come to fruition. However, with the acquisitions of Connor Clifton and Mathew Dumba in trades over the offseason plus a strong training camp from prospect Harrison Brunicke, there simply isn’t a spot for Graves on their opening roster.
Given his recent struggles and the fact that he has four years left on his contract, it’s safe to say that Graves will pass through unclaimed on Sunday and be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. From there, he can try to rebuild some confidence and try to work his way back to Pittsburgh. But few would have seen this coming just two years ago when he was given one of the bigger deals in free agency.
Joining Graves on the waiver wire from today’s moves are defenseman Alexander Alexeyev along with forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Bokondji Imama, and Samuel Poulin.
Not surprising. Dubas really screwed the cap between him and Jarry. Got the space now but these 2 contracts were killers
We don’t have cap concerns for the next few years. Lighten up Francis.
These were bad yes. I will give Dubas credit however for clearing out most of the terrible he-who-shall-not-be-named contracts
I was kinda hoping Graves and Karlsson would be the top d pair to ensure the best odds for McKenna.
Awesome.
BUT…have we changed our minds about tanking?
Because right now, unless we blatantly ride the cold hand in net, this seems more like a bubble team than a 1983 or 2003 type effort.
The coach and players aren’t tanking.
Graves didn’t suddenly forget how to play the game, And honestly, New Jersey is obviously alot better than Pittsburgh, So it’s very possible with a better club, Graves could revive his career.
Gonna have a fire sale at RD to be able to play Harrison Brunicke!
I hope Toronto makes a play for him… somehow.
Please do
Anyone really. Please. We will take replacement panes of glass for the rink in return. Or a net. Not a pair, just a net
I hope Boko doesn’t get claimed. The Pens didn’t get pushed around and beaten up when he was in the lineup last year. I think he’s a perfect 4th liner for the Pens