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Penguins Activate Bryan Rust, Nick Bjugstad

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced several moves today, which included activating several of their players off of  injured reserve. The team announced they activated forwards Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust (who was on long-term injured reserve) and both are expected to play in today’s lineup against Dallas.

The Penguins also changed the status of several players as Sam Lafferty, Adam Johnson and Joseph Blandisi all had their emergency recalls altered to regular recalls.

Rust has missed the entire season after blocking a shot in the preseason with his hand. The 27-year-old winger has also been a major missing piece in the Penguins’ lineup which also is missing Evgeni Malkin. The hope is that Rust can immediately supply the top-six with a prominent winger and add some offense to a suddenly struggling Pittsburgh squad. Rust scored a career-high 18 goals last season.

Bjugstad hasn’t appeared in a game since Oct. 5 after going down with a lower-body injury and should be a big addition to a team in need of some healthy veterans. The 27-year-old center has only appeared in two games this season, but scored nine goals and 13 points as a bottom-six center for the team in 32 games after the Penguins acquired him from Florida in February earlier this year.

Alex Galchenyuk Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have made it official, placing Alex Galchenyuk on injured reserve and recalling Adam Johnson. Galchenyuk and Patric Hornqvist both missed practice today and were listed as day-to-day. Johnson will come up after recording two points in his AHL debut this season.

Johnson will be given quite the opportunity in Pittsburgh in the meantime, as not only are Galchenyuk and Hornqvist banged up but Evgeni Malkin, Nick Bjugstad and Bryan Rust are out long-term. The 25-year old forward was another one of the Penguins’ undrafted college signings, joining the organization in 2017 after two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Johnson has been a solid minor league player the last two seasons, scoring 43 points in 67 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season and even getting into six games in the NHL.

Still, this is a dreadful start to the season for Pittsburgh, who had their eye on a Metropolitan Division title. The team’s depth up front is being tested and all the while GM Jim Rutherford appears to be searching for a trading partner to unload one of his defensemen. Taking on the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow, you can bet there will be substantial changes if things don’t turn around quickly in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Adam Johnson

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed Adam Johnson to a one-year, two-way contract. Johnson had been eligible for arbitration but did not file. The contract carries a $700K salary at the NHL level. Assistant GM Bill Guerin released a short statement on the forward:

Adam has definitely put the work in. He’s a great skater, and has worked extremely hard to get to another level of strength and conditioning, which certainly helped him in his second pro season. I think he proved not only to us but also to himself that he can play in the National Hockey League.

The 25-year old Johnson is another one of the Penguins’ undrafted free agent signings out of the NCAA, though he hasn’t yet made quite the impact players like Conor Sheary and Zach Aston-Reese. In fact, Johnson has played just six games for Pittsburgh since signing out of Minnesota-Duluth in 2017, instead spending most of his professional career with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It’s there that the two-way forward has made his mark, scoring 74 points in 137 games.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton may be where Johnson is headed once again unless more changes are made in Pittsburgh this summer, since he is still waiver-exempt for now. If that happens and he doesn’t play in at least 74 NHL games this season he will qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency in 2020 and could take his talents elsewhere. It’ll be a difficult task for him to land a full-time role out of camp, but not impossible. If the Penguins decide to move on from another player like Nick Bjugstad or Bryan Rust they may have an opening for at least a 13th forward, something Johnson could have the inside track on given his waiver status and relative versatility.

Minor Transactions: 04/05/19

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The NHL has just one playoff spot left to determine, and it’s going to come down to the wire. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens are tied at 94 points but the former has a chance to punch their ticket tonight. The Blue Jackets are ahead on the regulation+overtime wins (ROW) tiebreaker meaning if they win tonight the Canadiens won’t be able to catch them. As they and the rest of the NHL prepare for the last weekend of the regular season, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have returned Adam Johnson to the minor leagues after six games, giving their minor league affiliate a huge boost for the final few games of the AHL season. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are just three points out of a playoff spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, and Johnson is one of their best offensive players with 40 points in 63 games this season.
  • Chris Thorburn has been recalled by the St. Louis Blues, a veteran addition as they head into the playoffs. Thorburn has played in just a single game for the Blues this season, instead spending the majority of the year at the minor league level for the first time since 2005-06. The 35-year old forward can provide a physical presence if required, but isn’t likely to make a huge impact in the playoffs.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have returned Adin Hill to the minor leagues now that they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs. Hill was recalled to give them some insurance after Darcy Kuemper suffered a minor injury, but wasn’t needed after all.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent Andy Welinski back to the minor leagues and are expected to assign more players to the San Diego Gulls in the coming days. The Ducks won’t be heading for the playoffs this season, but they can at least help the Gulls on their pursuit of a Calder Cup.
  • Christian Wolanin and Rudolfs Balcers are on their way back to the Belleville Senators, as Mark Borowiecki and Bobby Ryan may return tomorrow for the Ottawa Senators. Wolanin and Balcers will help a Belleville team that is battling hard for a playoff spot against the Cleveland Monsters.
  • The exodus has begun in Florida, where the Panthers have sent Jayce Hawryluk, Dryden Hunt and Sam Montembeault back to the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are technically still alive in the playoff chase, but would need an awful lot of things to go right over the last few games.
  • Nathan Walker has been recalled by the Washington Capitals, likely meaning that a handful of forwards will be getting tomorrow night’s game off. The 25-year old has played three games with the team this season, but spent the majority of it in the minor leagues once again. Walker became the first Australian player (though he was actually born in Wales) to suit up in an NHL game last season, and has 34 points in 54 games this year with the Hershey Bears.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have finally sent Josh Currie back to the AHL after the veteran minor leaguer enjoyed an unexpectedly long stretch at the top level in his first career NHL call-up. Currie scored two goals and five points in 21 games with the Oilers since joining the team in mid-February. He’ll now join the Bakersfield Condors, who lead the AHL’s Pacific Division and are preparing for a deep playoff run.

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