Penguins Recall Avery Hayes, Joona Koppanen
The Pittsburgh Penguins have added two forwards to the roster ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Winger Avery Hayes and center Joona Koppanen have been recalled from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hayes’ recall will help the Penguins addresss a day-to-day injury for winger Anthony Mantha, while Koppanen will shore up the center depth per Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports.
Hayes could have the clearer path to a lineup role if Mantha need to miss Thursday’s game. The 23 year old scored two goals in his NHL debut in early February but has struggled to keep scoring on the other side of the NHL’s Olympic break. He has no points in 10 NHL games since, though he has scored nine points in his last seven AHL games. That minor-league scoring brings him up to 32 points in 38 AHL games this season, fourth on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring.
The Penguins will hope Hayes can rediscover his spark as he steps up for Mantha, who has eight points in his last nine games. All of that scoring was managed over a six-game stretch in mid-March, bringing Mantha up to 26 goals and 53 points in 71 games this season – a new career-high in scoring.
Koppanen hasn’t been in the NHL since November, when he played through a 10-game stint on Pittsburgh’s third-line. He recorded one assist, two penalty minutes, and a minus-one in that span. He also won 12 of the 25 faceoffs he took. Koppanen has filled a stout center role in his minor league minutes, netting 19 points and a plus-14 in 37 games. He brings reliable, two-way depth to the lineup and could help the Penguins make up for an injury to veteran Blake Lizotte.
The Penguins have turned towards Connor Dewar to fill a center role in Lizotte’s absence. He is putting together a career-year on Pittsburgh’s bottom line, with 14 goals, 27 points, and a plus-10 in 71 games – all career highs. That production has kept Dewar in a nightly lineup role, though his role as a faceoff-taker is new. With Koppanen on the roster, Pittsburgh will have the option to move Dewar back to the wing, in place of Elmer Soderblom.
Joona Koppanen Expected To Sign With SHL’s Lulea HF
Penguins pending UFA center Joona Koppanen is expected to sign with Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League for next year, as noted by David Olsson Jiglund of Kuriren. He won’t technically be a UFA until July 1, but he can formalize an agreement with them when SHL free agency opens in May, after the NHL regular season is over.
Koppanen, 28, was a fifth-round pick by the Bruins in 2016. He didn’t make his NHL debut until six years later, which turned out to be his final season in the Boston organization. He became a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2023 and signed a two-year deal with Pittsburgh, where he’s remained ever since, primarily as a big AHL depth piece with some call-up utility.
The 6’5″, 216-lb Finn has appeared in 30 NHL games over the past four seasons, 27 of which have come in Pittsburgh. He has just one goal and two assists, though, along with a -4 rating while averaging 11:55 of ice time per game. He’s below-average on draws and, while he’s provided fine possession metrics in heavy defensive usage, hasn’t excelled there either. That makes his low point totals in double-digit minutes per game too much of a net negative to give him an extended look, even if he does provide an effective physical presence, averaging two hits per game.
In the AHL, Koppanen has been a consistent, two-way, middle-six forward. He almost always averages around a half a point per game, including a 6-10–16 scoring line with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season.
Koppanen will now play in a top-level European league for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign. He spent all of his post-draft campaign in Finland’s junior circuit before Boston signed him to an entry-level deal. For 2017-18, they loaned him to Ilves in Finland’s first division, Liiga, for most of the year before bringing him over to North America for the rest of his tenure in the organization. He then returned to Ilves on loan during the COVID-shortened 2021 season before AHL games got underway.
He’ll join a Luleå team that won its first SHL championship since 1996 last year. They’re relatively light on NHL experience for a big-name European club, though. Leading the way with 91 games from 2010-14 is 37-year-old defenseman Erik Gustafsson (not the current Red Wings depth name).
Penguins Activate, Reassign Rutger McGroarty, Recall Joona Koppanen
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today that forward Joona Koppanen has been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In a corresponding move, the club activated forward Rutger McGroarty off injured reserve and reassigned him to the AHL.
McGroarty has been sidelined since Jan. 3 with a concussion. This reassignment allows McGroarty to build back up to NHL readiness at the AHL level after missing seven games. The 21-year-old began the year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, scoring seven points in just five games. That performance, likely coupled with the fact that he’s widely considered one of the team’s top prospects, landed McGroarty a spot on the team’s NHL roster.
Before his injury, McGroarty had managed to dress for a total of 16 NHL contests this season. Averaging 12:13 time on ice per game without much special teams usage to speak of, McGroarty only managed three points.
As a prospect, the most significant question mark surrounding McGroarty was his skating. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman classified McGroarty’s foot speed as “mediocre,” while David St-Louis of Elite Prospects wrote that McGroarty could become a quality middle-six NHLer if he could further develop his skating stride.
While McGroarty is widely credited with having improved his skating over the course of his time in the Penguins organization, the pace of NHL hockey proved to be a steep challenge for him during his 16 games of action so far this season. As a result, he has thus far been unable to translate his offensive production from the AHL level to the NHL, even as other positive qualities in his game have begun to surface.
Not only does reassigning McGroarty to the AHL give him a chance to ramp up from his injury recovery in a lower-pressure environment, it also gives him the chance to build up some confidence as a scorer. While the Penguins have not indicated any clear timeline for McGroarty’s return to the NHL level, it would be a surprise to see him with the AHL Penguins for an extended period.
Benefiting from McGroarty’s reassignment is Koppanen, who returns to the NHL roster after almost two months in the AHL. The 27-year-old last played in the NHL on Nov. 29, skating 13:28 in a tough 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s played in 10 games this season, registering one assist on 12:28 time on ice per game.
While it’s possible Koppanen’s recall lasts only as long as it takes for McGroarty to return to the NHL, this transaction is nonetheless a significant opportunity for the winger to gain some NHL experience in advance of his unrestricted free agency in the summer.
Earlier in the season, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe wrote that Koppanen “isn’t an NHL player.” He hasn’t gotten into an NHL game since that point. The key for Koppanen to flip that narrative and earn both an extended stint in the NHL and a one-way NHL contract for next season (he’s playing this year on a two-way deal with a $475K AHL salary) will be to bring a consistent defensive and physical element to the table on a shift-by-shift basis.
Koppanen stands 6’5″ and already got some time on the penalty kill in his last NHL stint. He has all the tools necessary to be an impactful fourth-line role player, and now this recall gives him another opportunity to show he can translate those tools into meaningful on-ice value.
As a pending UFA, every strong NHL game he can add to his résumé could make a difference in the summer, so how he performs in this newfound opportunity will be interesting to monitor in Pittsburgh’s next few games.
Joona Koppanen Clears Waivers
Saturday: Koppanen has passed through successfully for the second time, Friedman reports. The team announced that he was subsequently sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Friday: The Penguins placed forward Joona Koppanen on waivers Friday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll be assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he clears.
It’s Koppanen’s second time on the wire this season. He cleared during training camp and began the campaign in the minors before Pittsburgh recalled him in early November as the corresponding move for Filip Hallander‘s blood clot diagnosis.
The 27-year-old played 10 games on his recall, just enough to require waivers again to return to the minors. Now in his ninth year in North America and third in the Penguins organization, he recorded one assist and a -1 rating with six shots on goal during his recent stint in the lineup. Those 10 appearances were consecutive after his recall; he was then scratched for their win over the Flyers last Monday and missed Thursday’s win over the Lightning with an illness.
Koppanen was a fifth-round pick by the Bruins back in 2016. He remained in the Boston organization until 2022-23, making his NHL debut for the B’s that year, before reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency and signing in Pittsburgh. He initially inked a two-year deal but re-upped with them on a two-way extension in June of this year.
The big 6’5″ center is a competent piece of organizational depth and a good middle-six producer in the minors, scoring 139 points in 365 career AHL appearances. He hasn’t been able to stick as a fourth-line piece in several NHL tries now, though. He averaged north of 12 minutes per game on this call-up and even received some penalty kill deployment – he also did in 11 games for the Pens last year. His possession impacts and lack of offense (one goal, three points in 30 career NHL games) haven’t offered enough justification to keep him in the lineup. Among 25 qualified Pittsburgh skaters this year, Koppanen’s 47.2 xGF% at 5-on-5 ranks 20th. After playing a physical brand with 40 hits in 11 games last season, he only recorded nine hits in 10 appearances this time around.
Teams who are in dire need of center depth could take a long look at placing a claim for Koppanen, but in all likelihood, he shouldn’t have much trouble clearing.
Penguins Issue Multiple Injury Updates
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas issued a long list of injury updates in his latest GM Show. Most notably, winger Rickard Rakell remains approximately three-to-four weeks away from a hand injury sustained on October 25th. He was forced to undergo surgery for the injury and was desginated as out six-to-eight weeks at the time. He remains on track with that original designation with this update.
Forwards Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari are seven-to-10 days from making their own returns, per Dubas. Both players are currently on injured reserve with upper-body injuries and were cleared for contact at Wednesday’s practice per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Anthony Mantha (maintenance day) and Joona Koppanen (illness) missed practice.
The updates represent a long list of injuries that Pittsburgh has been forced to work around. Multiple absences at the forward position has put pressure on the Penguins’ rookies. Benjamin Kindel has taken on a carved-out role on the team’s third-line, and has been joined by wingers Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. Pittsburgh also recalled Tristan Broz for his NHL debut last week. The shakeup hasn’t worked in the Penguins’ favor, marked by a lowly 5-5-3 record in November. But they’ve seen plenty of reason for optimism, with Kindel posting six points in 11 games to go with Pittsburgh’s list of young prospects rotating into the lineup.
Pittsburgh has managed to cling onto an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot despite their quiet month. That perserverance could pay off when they begin returning veterans to the lineup. Rakell is a top-line winger on the Penguins. He has eight points in nine games this year, and posted a career-year last season with 35 goals and 70 points, both personal-bests. His chemistry with Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby is outstanding, and gives Pittsburgh a top-line to fear when all three are at full health.
Brazeau was another one of Pittsburgh’s hottest scorers to start the season. He managed six goals and 12 points in Pittsburgh’s first 12 games, marks that still rank him sixth on the team in scoring despite the fact that Brazeau has missed more games (13) than he’s played. He’ll face a tough task returning to that scoring – and a 27.3 shooting percentage – but should be a major addition to Pittsburgh’s middle-six. Acciari, despite his up-and-down play, should also push for third-line minutes. The two will bring size, grit, and veteran experience to the parts of Pittsburgh’s lineup that have had to lean on rookies the most.
Pittsburgh could be a few weeks away from upgrading a lineup that’s already in the playoff discussion. The Eastern Conference has proven extremely competitive this season, but a .911 save percentage in 11 games from Tristan Jarry has proven enough to platoon the Penguins’ record while they wait for their offensive firepower to get back to full health. How Pittsburgh is able to respond to a long list of injuries, and if they can maintain this pace, will become central stories as the NHL approaches 2026.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Joona Koppanen
According to a team announcement, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Joona Koppanen from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Since they only had 22 players on the roster before the recall, there was no need for a corresponding roster move.
Since the Penguins only had 12 forwards on their roster, Koppanen’s recall is likely linked to an injury or ailment of some sort. Forward Filip Hallander suffered an undisclosed injury at yesterday’s practice, so Koppanen may replace him in the lineup for this evening’s game against the Washington Capitals.
It’s been some time since Koppanen last suited up in an NHL contest. The Tampere, Finland native skated in 11 games for the Penguins last year, with his last coming on April 17th. In total, including his five appearances with the Boston Bruins during the 2022-23 season, Koppanen has scored one goal and one assist in 20 NHL games.
Therefore, it’s understandable that most of his professional playing experience has come in the AHL. Still, despite there being less overall talent, the former 135th pick of the 2016 NHL Draft has continued to struggle.
Since debuting with the Providence Bruins in the 2017-18 campaign, Koppanen has scored 54 goals and 139 points in 365 games with a +35 rating. That output is respectable for a third-line scorer at the AHL level, though it isn’t surprising he’s earned few looks in the NHL.
Given that he’s already 27 years old, Koppanen is no longer considered a prospect in the Penguins system. Still, since he has nearly a decade of professional playing experience, he’s a quality choice for one or two game stints as an injury filler.
Waivers: 10/2/25
There are 22 new names on the waiver wire today, PuckPedia reports. Everyone on the wire yesterday passed through aside from goaltender Pheonix Copley, who’s heading to the Lightning from the Kings.
Calgary Flames
F Rory Kerins
G Ivan Prosvetov
D Ilya Solovyov
Columbus Blue Jackets
Edmonton Oilers
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Sebastian Aho
F Danton Heinen
D Philip Kemp
F Joona Koppanen
G Filip Larsson
F Valtteri Puustinen
Seattle Kraken
F Ben Meyers
F Mitchell Stephens
Utah Mammoth
F Ben McCartney
D Scott Perunovich
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
D Dylan Coghlan
F Tanner Laczynski
F Raphael Lavoie
D Jaycob Megna
F Cole Schwindt
Heinen, Kerins, and Kravtsov jump out as the most notable skaters from the group. Heinen is one of the first veteran surprises to reach the wire this fall. The pending UFA costs $2.25MM against the cap and was a speculative trade candidate as the rebuilding Penguins look to shed their veterans on expiring deals. If he clears, he’ll still count for $1.1MM against Pittsburgh’s cap. It’s not as if he’s coming off a catastrophic 2024-25 season. He made 79 appearances split between the Canucks and Penguins, recording a 9-20–29 scoring line while averaging 13:27 per game. Those are all a few ticks below his career averages, but still serviceable bottom-six production for a reasonable price. He may not fit into the Penguins’ plans, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him claimed despite his cap impact.
Kerins has been a high-ceiling name in the Flames’ system for the past couple of years with quite strong AHL showings. He got his first taste of NHL action last year in a five-game call-up, looking like he belonged with four assists and a +3 rating while averaging 12:14 per game. The 5’10” pivot isn’t a natural fit in a fourth-line role, though, and Calgary doesn’t have an open spot for him in its top nine. He’s a pending RFA without arbitration rights on a two-way deal with a league minimum cap hit – prime conditions for a claim – and had 33 goals and 61 points in 63 AHL games last year.
Kravtsov not making it to the final couple of days of camp is a surprise. Selected No. 9 overall in 2018, he was on the Canucks’ reserve list after he departed the NHL to return to Russia in 2023. He had a great showing for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Kontinental Hockey League last year, leading the team with 27 goals in 66 games while adding 31 assists for 58 points. That was enough to generate mutual interest between the Canucks and Kravtsov to resume their relationship, and he signed a one-year, two-way deal in August. He’s due to be a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t hit 16 NHL games this year.
As for goalie-needy teams, Prosvetov might warrant some consideration after being passed over for Calgary’s backup job in favor of Devin Cooley. The 26-year-old has 24 NHL starts under his belt and was excellent in the KHL last year, managing a .920 SV% and 2.32 GAA in 38 games for CSKA Moscow.
Morning Notes: Noesen, Koppanen, Malott, Quenneville
The New Jersey Devils will have to wait a little while longer to see winger Stefan Noesen in action. Head coach Sheldon Keefe relayed that Noesen is continuing to progress in his return from a groin injury, but will need the entire preseason before he’s back to full health, to James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Noesen first sustained the injury last season, then re-aggravated it over the summer. That forced the 32-year-old to receive surgery, which he appears to still be recovering from.
The Devils will be adding a high-impact player back to the fold when Noesen returns to full health. He scored a career-high 22 goals and 41 points in 78 games last season, while rotating between New Jersey’s second and third lines. He was an important glue piece all year long, though played through this groin injury for much of the year. He’s paying for that with a delayed start to the season this year. In the meantime, New Jersey has elevated Dawson Mercer to Noesen’s vacant role next to Timo Meier and Nico Hischier at training camp.
Other notes from around the league:
- Pittsburgh Penguins depth forward Joona Koppanen will be out of action for the short-term. He has been designated as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Koopanen played more NHL games last season than in any prior year – appearing in 11 games and scoring one goal with the Penguins. The rest of his year was spent in a hardy role with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he scored 23 points in 56 games. He doesn’t appear to be headed for an NHL role out of camp, but will be looking to vindicate his spot on the call-up sheet when he comes back from injury.
- Little-known names break into the Los Angeles Kings roster seemingly every year. This season, it could be forward Jeff Malott who earns the honor this season, per Austin Stanovich of Mayor’s Manor. Malott was a core piece of the AHL’s Ontario Reign last season. He finished the year third on the team in scoring, with 51 points in 61 games. He also led the team with 80 penalty minutes. That mix of high-motor offense, and imposing physicality, could be a sneaky addition to a Kings lineup that elevated the feisty Alex Laferriere to a 42-point season last year.
- Former New Jersey Devils centerman John Quenneville has opted to pursue a coaching season this year. He has joined the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)’s Binghamton Black Bears, per a team release. Quenneville spent the last four seasons on tours around European pro leagues. He spent two seasons in the Switzerland National League, one season in Sweden’s SHL, and one season in Finland’s Liiga. He averaged about 0.5 points-per-game in every league. Should this turn to coaching mark the end of his career, Quenneville will move on from playing with five points in 42 NHL games and 158 points in 215 AHL games.
Penguins Re-Sign Joona Koppanen To Two-Way Deal
The Penguins have re-signed forward Joona Koppanen for the 2025-26 campaign, the club announced Tuesday. It’s an implied two-way deal with a $775K cap hit if he’s in the NHL.
After turning 27 in February, Koppanen was slated to become a bona fide unrestricted free agent for the first time. A Bruins sixth-round pick in 2015, Koppanen departed Boston for Pittsburgh in 2023 via Group VI UFA status, signing a two-year deal with only a partial two-way structure.
This season marked Koppanen’s third straight campaign with NHL ice time after playing the first five seasons of his professional career in North America without a call-up. He recorded an assist in five games for Boston in his NHL debut in 2022-23 before suiting up 15 times for the Pens over the last two years, including 11 showings late in 2024-25. The 6’5″, 215-lb Finn scored his first NHL goal in his first game of the season against the Islanders on March 18 but failed to get on the scoresheet the rest of the way.
The large, versatile winger doesn’t have much upside in the tank at this stage, but he remains a decent plug-and-play piece if injuries necessitate it and is sound organizational depth. He consistently hovers around the half a point per game mark in the AHL and had an 8-15–23 scoring line in 56 showings for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season, including 24 PIMs and a plus-five rating.
It’s commonplace to see a foreign-born player of Koppanen’s caliber return to Europe at this stage of his career, but he evidently likes the fit in Pittsburgh. With the club potentially looking to sell off additional pieces this summer, there could be more of an NHL opportunity for him in 2025-26 than he’s had in the past. It’s also worth noting that he’ll be taking a pay cut if he’s assigned to the minors at any point next year. His contract had a one-way structure in 2024-25, so he earned his full $775K league-minimum salary despite only spending a small portion of the season on the NHL roster. While his new two-way deal likely carries a high AHL salary and an even higher guarantee, it could still mean a reduction in Koppanen’s take-home pay if he logs more minor-league action.
Since arriving in the North American pyramid with Boston’s top minor-league affiliate in Providence in 2017-18, he has a 53-84–137 scoring line with 114 PIMs and a +32 rating in 359 AHL games. His signing brings Pittsburgh to having 39 out of 50 standard contracts on the books for next year.
Snapshots: Brown, Hintz, Koppanen
Oilers winger Connor Brown left today’s victory over Dallas with an upper-body injury. He was injured late in the second period on a hit from Alex Petrovic. Speaking with reporters postgame (video link), head coach Kris Knoblauch indicated that there was no immediate update on Brown’s status. The 31-year-old has been a quality secondary scorer in the playoffs with five goals and three assists in 14 games despite being questionable for a few games with another injury. If Brown isn’t available for Tuesday’s matchup, one of Viktor Arvidsson or Jeff Skinner would likely take his place in the lineup.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- With Roope Hintz being a late scratch against Edmonton, Stars head coach Peter DeBoer was asked after today’s game about his status. He noted (video link) that the center wasn’t particularly close to being able to play and had he been close, he would have played. Hintz took the pregame warmup but left only a few minutes in and DeBoer’s comments appear to call into question Hintz’s potential availability on Tuesday. Hintz has five goals and six assists through 15 playoff games, good for a share of second in team scoring heading into today’s loss.
- Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests that pending UFA winger Joona Koppanen would be wise to move on in free agency this summer in a move that could work well for him and the Penguins. The 27-year-old played in 11 games with Pittsburgh this season, scoring once while adding 23 points in 56 AHL contests with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. While Koppanen can kill penalties, Kyle Dubas tends to prefer a lot of depth which could put him further down the depth chart if he were to re-sign compared to some other teams where a path to a recall could be easier to reach.