Reilly Smith Out "Longer-Term"
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Reilly Smith has had a slow start to his first campaign with the team, as his 41-point scoring pace is a notable decline from last season, when he scored 56 points in 78 games. Smith has been struck with even worse luck, as after a hit from Nikita Zadorov in last night’s game Smith is believed to be out “longer-term” with an upper-body injury. (via SportsNet Pittsburgh’s Hailey Hunter)
Smith is currently playing third-line minutes alongside Lars Eller and Valtteri Puustinen, and will need to be replaced for the foreseeable future. Big Radim Zahorna has been a healthy scratch and could step right in, or alternatively, the team could opt to call up a player from its AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The Penguins traded Wilkes-Barre Scranton’s leading scorer, Rem Pitlick, to the Chicago Blackhawks earlier this month, so it’s likely if there is a recall a player such as Alex Nylander is the one who receives it.
Anaheim Ducks Claim Gustav Lindstrom Off Waivers
Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have claimed defenseman Gustav Lindstrom off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens. Lindstrom was originally acquired by the Canadiens from the Detroit Red Wings along with a 2025 fourth-round pick in exchange for defenseman Jeff Petry. The trade happened towards the end of last summer after Petry had been moved to Montreal by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The 25-year-old Lindstrom was drafted by Detroit 38th overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft and emerged as an NHL option during the 2019-2020 season as he posted one assist in a 16-game NHL audition. The following year during the pandemic-shorted season, Lindstrom dressed in just 13 NHL games and put up three points, while struggling with turnovers and defensive miscues.
The turnovers became a theme in Lindstrom’s play during his first full NHL season in 2021-22 when Lindstrom dressed in 63 games and averaged over 16 minutes of ice time per game. Lindstrom did emerge as a talented shot blocker and a physical option on the back end, but his sloppy play with the puck became a problem for the young defender.
This year with Montreal, Lindstrom has played in 13 games and has a career-high three goals and an assist. Despite his goal-scoring, Lindstrom has not played for Montreal since December 9th and was expected to be sent to the Laval Rocket of the AHL if he cleared waivers.
With the waiver claim, the Ducks will have a free look at a talented, albeit flawed, young defenseman.
Jake Guentzel Could Delay Extension Discussions With Penguins
Jake Guentzel’s future with the Penguins is one of several questions surrounding the team as they continue to battle to get back into a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The fact he’s a pending unrestricted free agent would seem to expedite the need for extension talks to happen. However, in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that Guentzel’s camp could opt to wait until the summer before engaging in substantive discussions about a new deal. He adds that there have been no discussions between the two sides so far.
The 29-year-old is in the middle of what could be a career year as he has 18 goals and 25 assists in 37 games so far, a 95-point pace. His previous benchmark was sent in 2021-22 when he collected 84 points in 76 contests. Guentzel has reached the 40-goal mark twice so far in his career and is on pace for 40 this season as well, setting him up quite nicely for a substantial raise on his current $6MM AAV.
One of the elements that could delay Guentzel’s decision is Pittsburgh’s place in the standings. If GM Kyle Dubas decides to embark on any sort of retool or rebuild, it’s possible that could dissuade Guentzel from wanting to extend. Of course, it’s possible that in that scenario, the decision gets taken out of his hands altogether if the Penguins decide to move him altogether by the March 8th trade deadline. What Pittsburgh’s plans are moving forward will obviously go a long way toward determining Guentzel’s level of interest in sticking around.
Assuming the salary cap goes up to the $87.5MM range as anticipated, Pittsburgh should have enough flexibility to make a competitive offer to Guentzel, one that could push past the $9MM mark on a long-term agreement. Considering his value to the team and in a potential trade, it stands to reason that Dubas will at least approach Guentzel’s camp to get a sense of what a new deal might cost. But one way or another, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be putting pen to paper on an extension anytime soon.
Blackhawks Acquire Rem Pitlick
The Blackhawks have added some extra depth up front, acquiring winger Rem Pitlick from Pittsburgh in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick. Both teams have announced the swap.
Pitlick spent the previous two seasons with Montreal before being included as part of the three-team swap which also involved San Jose, landing the Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson.
The 26-year-old impressed as a waiver claim by the Canadiens in 2021, picking up 26 points in 46 games. That was enough for Montreal to give him a two-year, $2.2MM contract, seemingly giving him some stability. However, Pitlick cleared waivers last season, splitting the year between AHL Laval and Montreal where he had just 15 points in 46 contests, leading to a trade request, one that was granted with his inclusion in the three-way trade.
However, the change of scenery didn’t work out quite as planned for Pitlick. Pittsburgh’s cap situation helped land him back on waivers and since clearing at the end of training camp, he has played exclusively with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Pitlick has been productive down there, notching 24 points in 32 games to lead the Baby Pens in scoring.
Presumably, Pitlick will now get an NHL look with a team where the salary cap situation won’t be a concern. The Blackhawks have six forwards on injured reserve at the moment while Connor Bedard left yesterday’s game due to injury so Pitlick should get an opportunity to make an impact with Chicago. A strong second half showing could give him a nice boost heading into unrestricted free agency this summer, just like it did two years ago.
Afternoon Notes: Golden Knights, Puljujarvi, Meyers
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy shared updates on the team’s long list of injuries, sharing that Daniil Miromanov is back on the ice, Keegan Kolesar is still out of the lineup with illness, and that starter Adin Hill has returned to skating on his own but isn’t quite ready to rejoin the team. Cassidy also shared that Shea Theodore is still a ways away from returning. The star defenseman is joined by Miromanov and Hill on injured reserve.
These injuries have underscored what’s been a battered Vegas lineup to start the year. The club currently has a top-six forward in William Karlsson, starter Adin Hill, and four different defensemen on IR. The only on the list to not yet make his season debut is NHL newcomer Miromanov, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury that’s held him out since the start of the year.
The amount of talent being held out of Vegas’ lineup is impressive. Karlsson ranks third on the team in scoring with 32 points in 38 games. Theodore still leads all Knights defenders in scoring, despite missing 18 games, with 18 points in 20 games. And Hill has returned to the impeccable goalie that made him an icon last postseason, boasting a .934 save percentage through 15 games this season. The Golden Knights will be in for a big boost when they’re able to get each of these players back, although how long that may take is still up in the air.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a professional try-out agreement, extending his time in the Penguins organization. Puljujarvi is working his way back from double hip surgery and has been skating with the Pittsburgh lineup at practices. And while his return still seems to be a ways out, this move helps set him up for an AHL conditioning stint once he’s ready to go.
- The Colorado Avalanche have assigned Ben Meyers to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. This is likely in an effort to maintain the young forward’s waiver exemption status. Meyers has played in a collective 58 NHL games since joining the Avalanche in 2021-22 and will lose his exemption once he hits 60 games. The 25-year-old centerman has totaled six goals and no assists through those 58 games, adding 37 points in 49 AHL games.
Matt Nieto Out Six To Eight Weeks After Knee Surgery
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that forward Matt Nieto underwent successful laparoscopic surgery on his right knee, and is expected to be out of commission on a six to eight-week timeline.
Nieto, 31, has not played since November 30th. Initially, the timeline for his injury was not fully clear, but the Penguins’ eventual placement of Nieto on injured reserve was seen by some as an indication that he’d be out for a more substantial duration of time.
When healthy, Nieto is a key defensive specialist in the Penguins’ forward lineup. Signed as part of the team’s offseason overhaul of its bottom six, Nieto averages nearly two and a half minutes per game on the penalty kill. That ranks him among the most heavily utilized forwards in Pittsburgh when the opponent is on the man advantage.
His work there has helped Pittsburgh’s short-handed units rank 10th in the NHL in kill rate, which to this point is an improvement over last season’s 16th-place finish. Now they’ll need to rely on other players in Nieto’s absence, though they’ve had the past month to get acquainted with how to manage that and have been decently successful, going 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
Penguins Place John Ludvig On LTIR, Recall Ryan Shea
11:30 AM: John Ludvig has been moved to LTIR. He has been announced as dealing with an upper-body injury.
10:30 AM: The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed defenseman John Ludvig on injured reserve and recalled Ryan Shea from the minor leagues. Shea has been up-and-down from the minor leagues since clearing waivers on December 18th. He’ll now fill in for Ludvig, whose injury is currently undisclosed, though he did miss the team’s Tuesday matchup against the Washington Capitals. This is Ludvig’s second move to injured reserve this season, previously being placed on the list with a concussion that cleared up in late-November.
Ludvig is playing out his rookie season in Pittsburgh this year, after the Penguins claimed him off of waivers from the Florida Panthers before the start of the season. He was originally a third round draft selection in the 2019 NHL Draft. He played his first professional season two years after his draft, scoring eight points in 13 games as a rookie for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch. Ludvig spent parts of the next two seasons with the Charlotte Checkers, though he only managed a combined 57 games and 17 points with the club. He now finds himself in Pittsburgh, who briefly assigned him to the AHL for a conditioning stint after returning from his concussion. Ludvig did little in his pair of games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording no points and two penalty minutes.
Pittsburgh is replacing one rookie with another in Shea, a 26-year-old defenseman originally drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. Shea played one more season of juniors after his draft, before playing in a full four years at Northeastern University. He similarly made his AHL debut in 2020-21, recording six assists in 27 games, and joined the Penguins organization via a one-year, $775K two-way contract signed on July 1st. Shea is still searching for his first NHL point, with six penalty minutes and a -2 being the only changes to his stat line through is first 22 career games. Shea has also gone without a point in four AHL games this year.
Evening Notes: Nieto, Gendron, Zaitsev
Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have transferred forward Matthew Nieto to the Long-Term Injured Reserve after activating forward Bryan Rust. Nieto has been out of action for the Penguins with a lower-body injury since November 30th and is free to return whenever he is physically able to as he has already exceeded the 10-game, 24-day requirement for LTIR.
Nieto signed a two-year deal with the Penguins on July 1st and has been terrific on the penalty kill but has struggled at even strength as the fourth line has been ineffective when he has been a part of it thus far. In 22 games this season the 31-year-old Long Beach, California native has a goal and three assists. The timing of Nieto’s injury was unfortunate as he was starting to gain traction in the games leading up to him getting hurt.
In other evening notes:
- Philadelphia Flyers writer Bill Meltzer is reporting that the Flyers have returned forward Alexis Gendron to the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL. The 20-year-old had played in 17 games for the Flyers AHL affiliate the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and had posted five goals and two assists. His QMJHL rights were traded by the Gatineau Olympiques to Drummondville on December 30th meaning he will be suiting up for the Voltigeurs for the first time.
- Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks are set to welcome defenseman Nikita Zaitsev back to the lineup tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators. The 32-year-old has been out with an illness and will draw back into the lineup in place of Isaak Phillips after a two-game absence. Zaitsev has dressed in 18 games this season and has averaged 15:42 of ice time per game while registering a goal and four assists.
Penguins Activate Bryan Rust; Reassign Vinnie Hinostroza, Ryan Shea
As alluded to in multiple reports this morning, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have officially activated forward Bryan Rust off of long-term injured reserve, and he will return to the lineup tonight as the team takes on the Washington Capitals. In a corresponding roster move, the team also announced that forward Vinnie Hinostroza and defenseman Ryan Shea had both been sent down to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Rust, who has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury since December 6th, will serve as yet another significant reinforcement back into the Penguins lineup. Only a few weeks ago, Pittsburgh saw the return of fellow forward Rickard Rakell, after he missed he missed a month of action on LTIR.
Even after missing the team’s last 10 contests, Rust still impressively sits sixth on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 20 points in 22 games. With Rust back in the lineup, the Penguins will be able to carry a full top-six, a luxury they have largely been without for much of the 2023-24 season.
Although their position in the standings looked dire a few weeks ago, the Penguins have found themselves back in the playoff conversation, moving to one point back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference correlating with the return of a lot of their injured players. Over their last 10 games, Pittsburgh holds a 7-2-1 record, picking up a solid win over the Carolina Hurricanes, and two wins over the New York Islanders over that stretch.
For the reassignments, it will now mark the sixth time Hinostroza has been sent down this season, although a handful of those demotions were merely paper transactions for the Penguins to manage their salary cap outlook. Being brought in as a flexible and veteran forward option for the team this past summer, Hinostroza has one goal and three points with Pittsburgh so far this season.
Shea, on the other hand, has played in a majority of the Penguins’ games up to this point in the season, suiting up in 22 contests, averaging just under 12 and a half minutes per game. Viewed as a bit of a reclamation project for the organization, Shea’s defensive play has been solid during his limited usage with Pittsburgh. Failing to produce a point on the year, his 50.2% CorsiFor% and his 92.6% on-ice save percentage in all situations both serve as relatively above-average marks for a defenseman in his position.
It is more than likely that both Shea and Hinostroza will find themselves back up in the NHL at some point this season, they will now help a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team in a similar position to their NHL affiliate. Through 31 games, the baby Penguins hold a 16-12-3-0 record, sitting in fifth place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division.
Evening Notes: Tortorella, Askarov, Joseph, Suzdalev
Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella made history on Friday, become the eighth man to coach in 1,500 NHL games. The milestone was reached via a matchup with the Seattle Kraken that ended in a 2-1 overtime loss for the Flyers. But despite dropping his most recent game, Tortorella has been fantastically successful for much of the rest of this season, currently boasting a 19-11-5 record that has Philadelphia ranked third in the Metropolitan Division. This comes despite Philadelphia being considered one of the league’s rebuilders entering the season, with many expecting the team to start off slow under a new general manager and a second-year head coach.
But Tortorella has pulled the Flyers above their expectations, following an interesting pattern of missing the playoffs in his first full season with a new team but driving towards the post-season in his second year. Tortorella has done the same for every club that he’s coached for, save for the Vancouver Canucks, who he only spent one season with.
Tortorella joins an exclusive list by hitting the 1,500-game mark. Only seven other head coaches have hit the mark – and, interestingly, only three coaches in the Top 10 of games played are officially retired. Four coaches on the list are currently behind NHL benches – with Tortorella joined by Florida’s Paul Maurice, New Jersey’s Lindy Ruff, and New York’s Peter Laviolette. The list also features Barry Trotz, who is taking a break from coaching to serve as the Nashville Predators general manager, and Joel Quenneville and Darryl Sutter, who are both coaching free agents with differing levels of optimism around if they may coach again in the future.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Nashville Predators have sent top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov to the minor leagues. Askarov played in two games while with the Predators roster, saving 33 of a possible 35 shots. Askarov has also played in 15 AHL games this season, setting an 8-6-1 record and .908 save percentage.
- Pierre-Olivier Joseph is set to miss the Penguins’ Sunday night matchup against the New York Islanders, continuing to sit out with illness. Joseph’s last game was on December 16th. He’s played in eight NHL games this year, recording one assist and a -3.
- Washington Capitals 2022 second-round draft pick Alexander Suzdalev has had his WHL rights traded from the Regina Pats to the Saskatoon Blades. Regina received three players and three draft picks in return, including a first round pick in the 2026 Draft. Suzdalev scored 86 points in 66 WHL games last season, adding 10 points in seven playoff games. But he’s since returned to Sweden, playing in 13 games and scoring three points with Mora IK of Sweden’s second league. This blockbuster WHL move could be a sign that Suzdalev is poised for a return to Canadian juniors.