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Jansen Harkins

Penguins Reassign Jansen Harkins

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6:05 p.m.: In what may be an NHL record, the Penguins have returned Harkins to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton less than two hours after recalling him. It’s unclear why they opted to bring him up to the NHL in the first place, but this may be part of the moves Pittsburgh needs to make to take Nedeljkovic off LTIR.

4:19 p.m.: The Penguins announced the recall of winger Jansen Harkins from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday afternoon. In a corresponding transaction, defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph was moved to IR as he remains out with a lower-body injury.

Head coach Mike Sullivan informed reporters earlier today that Joseph has been dealing with a nagging injury, explaining his absence from the lineup in ten out of the team’s last 11 contests. Joseph last played in the team’s 10-2 drubbing of the Sharks on November 4, logging an assist and a +1 rating in 18 minutes of ice time.

Meanwhile, Harkins finds himself back on the NHL roster after clearing waivers almost one month ago. It was Harkins’ second time on the waiver wire this season, the first of which resulted in the Penguins claiming him and the second season of his $850K one-way contract from the Jets. Harkins played in four games for the Penguins, registering a -1 rating and four shots on goal in less than ten minutes of average ice time before ending up on waivers a second time.

After clearing, Harkins headed to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he’s continued his long history of solid minor-league production with four goals and nine points in 11 games. It’s a tad lower than the precedent he set for himself over his last two outings with the Jets’ affiliate in Manitoba, where he averaged over a point per game.

Now, Harkins gets another shot to prove himself as a potential contributor to the Penguins’ bottom six. He’ll look to work his way into the lineup and potentially provide more scoring punch than Noel Acciari or Matthew Nieto, both of whom have just one point this season despite playing in all 15 games.

The moves leave Pittsburgh with very limited space in their LTIR pool – just $15K, to be precise. They’ll likely need to send two players to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in order to activate netminder Alex Nedeljkovic and his $1.5MM cap hit off LTIR, which should happen soon after he was recalled from a conditioning stint to the AHL Penguins today.

Latest On Pittsburgh Penguins Roster

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The Pittsburgh Penguins finally found a goal scorer in their bottom six forwards as Radim Zohorna lit the lamp in the final minutes of the Penguins’ 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues last night. Zohorna was playing in his first game of the season after being sent down to the AHL after a strong training camp and formed a unit with fellow winger Drew O’Connor and center Lars Eller.

After the game, Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan was visibly frustrated with his team’s play, and while he didn’t talk about roster decisions going forward, General Manager Kyle Dubas has been. Dubas spoke with NHL On TNT just a few nights ago and said he wanted the bottom six forwards to be tougher to play against and added that he didn’t feel the group was there yet. Dubas’ comments sparked speculation that the Penguins could be looking to make a move in the bottom six and they did by waiving Jansen Harkins and re-calling Zohorna before last night’s game. The Penguins also health-scratched defenseman P.O. Joseph in favor of Ryan Shea who made his NHL debut on the Penguins’ third pairing.

Kyle Dubas stocked up on fringe NHL talent in the offseason and has stashed many of those options in the AHL specifically for a moment like this. The Penguins AHL affiliate has so many veterans in fact that Alex Nylander and Andreas Johnsson had to be veteran scratches for last night’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins game. On top of Nylander, Johnsson, and Harkins, the Penguins also have Vinnie Hinostroza, Rem Pitlick, and Colin White as former NHLers who could be called up to shuffle the furniture in the Penguins bottom six.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote in his 10 Postgame Observations piece that Sullivan typically doesn’t make major changes after a loss, but given the team’s recent record and his comments, he implies that it could happen. The Penguins third line of O’Connor, Eller and Zohorna was very good last night, however, the fourth line of Matthew Nieto, Jeff Carter and Noel Acciari has offered very little to the team and appears to be constantly chasing the play. That group is at the bottom of the Penguins lineup in almost every analytical statistic and has a combined zero points in five games together. Sullivan has been apprehensive about scratching Carter in the past and became defensive with the media last season on multiple occasions when the topic was asked about.

It might be just five games into the season but given that the Penguins are 2-3 against five teams that didn’t make the playoffs last season, there could be big changes brewing in Pittsburgh as Dubas and company try to find an identity for the bottom six forwards. A competent bottom-six has been something the Penguins have lacked since they lost Brandon Tanev (and Jared McCann via trade) in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and it was one of the big reasons they missed the playoffs in 2023.

Transaction Notes: Zohorna, Toninato, Honka

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that forward Radim Zohorna has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. In addition, forward Jansen Harkins has cleared waivers and been assigned to Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Harkins, 26, arrived in Pittsburgh via a waiver claim from the Winnipeg Jets, and has played in four NHL games for the Penguins. He hasn’t registered a point in that span and most recently was playing on head coach Mike Sullivan’s third line alongside Drew O’Connor and Lars Eller.

Harkins has been a stellar AHLer in the past, such as last season when he scored 50 points in just 44 games for the Manitoba Moose, so he’s likely to be an impact forward in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Harkins’ replacement, Zohorna, brings more size to the Penguins’ bottom-six, though he has not produced as well in North America as Harkins has. The Penguins’ bottom-six forwards as a whole have left the team wanting more, so perhaps this move will help spark an uptick in form for the Penguins’ bottom-sixers.

Some other transaction-related notes from across the NHL:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled veteran center Dominic Toninato from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. With Gabriel Vilardi now out for an extended period, the Jets were in need of a new player to serve as the organization’s 13th forward. Toninato, who has 37 points in his last 52 AHL games, is a reliable veteran pivot for head coach Rick Bowness to work with, and he’s likely to fill in on the team’s fourth line should he end up dressing for games.
  • Carolina Hurricanes defensive prospect Anttoni Honka has been loaned to JYP Jyväskylä of the Finnish Liiga, the club he’s played almost all of his 205-game Liiga career with. The 23-year-old 2019 third-round pick was originally slated to play ECHL hockey with the Norfolk Admirals, but rather than play third-tier hockey in North America he appears to have chosen to return to Finland’s top league. Since the Hurricanes currently do not have an AHL affiliate, the team has struggled to find places in the AHL for its prospects to develop. Honka joins 2020 41st overall pick Noel Gunler as Hurricanes prospects originally sent to the ECHL who have instead elected to continue their development in Europe.

Penguins Place Jansen Harkins On Waivers

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Jansen Harkins on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

This could end an extremely short stint in Pittsburgh for the 26-year-old. He began training camp as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, who waived him at the beginning of the month, and Pittsburgh snapped him up off waivers. Just over two weeks later, he finds himself on the wire again.

Harkins had averaged just 9:28 per game through four contests with Pittsburgh despite playing a third-line role with Lars Eller and Drew O’Connor, but Eller is the only player out of that trio who had managed to get on the scoresheet – just one assist. In fact, Eller is the only member of the Penguins’ bottom six to register a point this season. The entire fourth line remains scoreless through four contests.

The North Vancouver native had just five points in 22 games with Winnipeg last season but quite impressive numbers in the minors. With the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, Harkins notched 50 points in 44 games, his second time breaking the point-per-game plane in the AHL.

Manitoba is where he could continue his season if the Jets attempt to reclaim him on waivers and are the only team to do so. In that case, Winnipeg could send him directly to the minors without risking his rights on waivers again. If any other team puts in a claim, he will need waivers to head to the minors.

Latest On Pittsburgh Penguins Roster Decisions

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic speculated last night about who the Pittsburgh Penguins will keep as their 12th and 13th forwards. As mentioned in an article earlier this week, the Penguins had a litany of options in their bottom six and have whittled that number down to just a few players. Yohe figures that Jeff Carter, Lars Eller, Drew O’Connor, Matthew Nieto, and Noel Acciari should be locked in to start the season on the third and fourth lines. This leaves just two spots as the Penguins typically like to carry 13 forwards.

Yohe believes that the final two spots will come down to three players Radim Zohorna, recent waiver pickup Jansen Harkins, and Colin White who is currently on a PTO. Yohe seemed particularly impressed with Harkins, who was acquired off waivers on Monday and at 26 years old, could be a late bloomer. He scored 25 goals in 44 AHL games last season and has played 154 NHL games in his career. Harkins has inserted himself physically in the pre-season, something that the Penguins don’t have a lot of.

Zohorna has bounced around the league since coming to North America in 2020. He has been a member of the Penguins previously, the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. In 35 NHL games, he has 5 goals and 6 assists, and while those numbers don’t jump off the screen, he has been very effective in the preseason and offers size at 6’6” and 230 pounds.

Yohe believes that Harkins and Zohorna should be the final two players to make the Penguins NHL roster although he does concede that White is a legitimate NHLer with some upside. The Penguins don’t have a lot of scoring options in the bottom six and White is a former first-round pick who has posted 44 goals and 69 assists in 292 NHL games.

Whoever the Penguins elect to cut will likely find work elsewhere, which should make for interesting roster gymnastics as the Penguins try to maximize their forward depth and keep as many players as they can. The Penguins start the season on October 10th against the Chicago Blackhawks and will need to decide their lineup before the start of the season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Claim Jansen Harkins Off Waivers From Jets

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed winger Jansen Harkins off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Monday. All other players placed on waivers yesterday, aside from new Nashville Predators forward Samuel Fagemo, cleared.

Harkins, 26, had spent his entire NHL career in the Jets organization after they drafted him with the 47th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He’s only logged one true season as a full-time NHLer, suiting up in 77 games for Winnipeg in 2021-22, but the Penguins will bank on him being a solid depth contributor signed to a cheap cap hit (but not league minimum) of $850K. It’s worth noting Harkins is due slightly more actual salary than cap hit this season – $875K, to be exact.

In 154 NHL games dating back to 2019, Harkins has 13 goals, 14 assists and 27 points – not awful totals for a player that’s averaged under ten minutes per game. Assigned to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for the first time since 2020 last season, Harkins recorded well over a point per game, notching 25 goals and 50 points in 44 games. That production is what’s bumped his stock coming into this season and, evidently, influenced Penguins management to take a flyer on the 6-foot-2 winger with strong two-way instincts.

With trade acquisition Rem Pitlick having already cleared waivers and been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh has some competition to lock down depth forward spots, especially with Jake Guentzel out for the first few games of the season. Harkins will now compete for a spot on the Penguins’ opening night lineup alongside depth forwards like Vinnie Hinostroza, Alexander Nylander and Radim Zohorna.

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