Penguins Assign Five To AHL
Wednesday: The Penguins announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned McGroarty, Koivunen, and Koppanen, along with wingers Avery Hayes and Rafael Harvey-Pinard, back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. All five got into at least one game in recent days.
Saturday: With the Penguins now having secured a playoff spot, they’re electing to get some players with nagging injuries some rest. That means that several players needed to be recalled to have a full roster available for their game today against Washington. Those promotions have been made as the team announced (Twitter link) that forwards Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, and Joona Koppanen have been recalled on an emergency basis from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With the emergency designation, none of them will count toward their post-deadline recall limit of five.
McGroarty is up with Pittsburgh for the fourth time this season. He has suited up in 21 games so far in a bottom-six role, picking up two goals and three assists while averaging 11:46 per night. The 2022 first-round pick has been much more productive in the minors, however, with eight goals and 22 assists in 28 games. With many key players out of the lineup today, McGroarty should have a chance to play in more of an offensive role than he has had most nights with Pittsburgh this season.
Koivunen, meanwhile, is also up for his fourth stint of the season. But unlike McGroarty, he has spent more time with Pittsburgh than in the minors. In 36 games at the top level, the 22-year-old has two goals and five assists while averaging 12:29 per night. Unsurprisingly, he has been a much better producer in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tallying 11 goals and 25 assists in 32 appearances.
As for Koppanen, he’s also getting his fourth promotion of the year. While he hasn’t played a lot with Pittsburgh, he has had to clear waivers twice already this season. In 10 NHL outings, the 28-year-old has just one assist. In the minors, he has fared better, picking up eight goals and 15 assists in 42 contests. A pending unrestricted free agent, a report surfaced last month that suggested he’s likely to sign in Sweden for next season.
For their game today, the team announced (Twitter link) that numerous players are unavailable due to day-to-day injuries. Those include forwards Sidney Crosby (lower body), Benjamin Kindel (upper body), Evgeni Malkin (upper body), and Bryan Rust (lower body). On the back end, Erik Karlsson (lower body), Kris Letang (upper body), and Parker Wotherspoon (upper body) are all sidelined. Additionally, center Connor Dewar is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury of his own, putting his availability to start the playoffs in jeopardy.
Penguins Recall Rafael Harvey-Pinard
The Penguins have recalled winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, per a team announcement. He’s in line to make his Pittsburgh debut tonight in their regular season finale against the Blues, while the Pens will sit virtually their entire top six to get them some extra rest ahead of their first round playoff matchup with the Flyers.
Harvey-Pinard landed a two-way deal with the Penguins at the beginning of free agency last summer. He cleared waivers during training camp and, aside from a brief recall in January that didn’t result in any playing time, has spent the entire season on assignment to the Baby Pens. The 5’9″ energy winger has produced 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 64 games, along with a strong +18 rating.
That’s not the peak production Harvey-Pinard has flashed in the past. A seventh-round pick by the Canadiens in 2019, he managed 21 goals and 56 points in 69 AHL outings back in 2021-22. That preceded Harvey-Pinard getting an extended NHL look the following season – mostly in a top-line role, too, in the wake of a Cole Caufield shoulder injury – in which he had 14 goals and 20 points in only 34 games.
Now 27, that seems to be where Harvey-Pinard peaked. He’s dealt with various injuries since then and only managed a 2-8–10 scoring line in 45 games the following year before falling out of the NHL rotation entirely in 2024-25. After finishing out the back half of a two-year, $2.2MM contract in Laval, it was no surprise to see Montreal let him walk with a non-tender to unrestricted free agency.
Harvey-Pinard likely needed more than what he’s produced this season to climb back into NHL consideration at Pittsburgh’s or someone else’s training camp in the fall. He’s done well enough to earn a two-way deal somewhere else, though. If he’s not interested in another one, there should be some interest from European clubs this summer as well.
Penguins Place Erik Karlsson On IR, Recall Ryan Graves
Jan. 14th: Broz’s recall will end without playing a game for Pittsburgh. The Penguins announced this morning that they’ve reassigned Broz back to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Jan. 13th: The Pittsburgh Penguins made a series of roster moves this morning. Most notably, defenseman Erik Karlsson has landed on injured reserve due to an undisclosed injury. He will miss at least two weeks of action per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. The Penguins have recalled defenseman Ryan Graves in place of Karlsson. Pittsburgh has also recalled winger Tristan Broz and reassigned Rafael Harvey-Pinard.
This will be Karlsson’s first time missing games for the Penguins. He is riding a team-best 208-game ironman streak that dates back to Pittsburgh’s trade for the former Norris Trophy winner all the way back in 2023. Karlsson has filled a major role on the Penguins’ blue-line since joining the team but his importance has seemed to only rise this season. He leads Pittsburgh’s defense – and ranks third on the team – with 33 points in 44 games this season. He also leads the blue-line in shots on goal (94), takeaways (21), and power-play ice time (135 minutes).
That level of offense from the blue-line will be impossible for Pittsburgh to replace. Kris Letang is the blue-line’s second-highest scorer with 22 points in 44 games. He has matched a 0.5 point-per-game pace for much of the season and will certainly take on top offensive-defenseman duties in Karlsson’s absence. But who steps up for Letang is less clear. Ryan Shea has 16 points and 37 shots on goal this season, while Parker Wotherspoon has 15 points and 43 shots on goal.
Neither are known for their offense but may be called upon to fill heavy minutes with Karlsson on the shelf. Some focus will also land on Graves, who has an impressive nine points in 13 AHL games this season. That scoring hasn’t risen to the NHL level just yet – Graves has five points in his last 78 NHL games dating back to last season – but an open opportunity could be what changes that. Pittsburgh could also turn towards AHL prospect Owen Pickering, who leads the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ defense with 15 points in 33 games. He has only appeared in four NHL games this season – setting no scoring and a minus-three. He did manage three points and a minus-five in 25 NHL games last season.
The Penguins will also swap out depth forwards on the roster. Broz leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 33 games. He is the only member of the team with double-digit goals this season. He made his NHL debut earlier in the year and recorded no scoring and a minus-one. Back on the NHL roster, Broz will offer a nice bit of skill and scoring upside while Pittsburgh faces injuries to Bryan Rust and Rutger McGroarty. Broz would likely step into the lineup over high-speed bruiser Connor Dewar, in a bottom-six role. Meanwhile, Harvey-Pinard will return to the minors where he has already posted 13 points in 32 games.
Pittsburgh will be without Karlsson for at least seven games. That’s a big window to try and keep their ship sailing straight, after curbing an eight-game losing streak in early December with a 7-3-0 record since December 21st. The Penguins have averaged 3.7 goals-per-game on that recent win-streak, a number that could quickly dwindle with a future Hall-of-Fame, offensive-defenseman on the sidelines.
Penguins Recall Rafael Harvey-Pinard
The Penguins brought up some extra forward depth for their afternoon game against Calgary today. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s serving as injury insurance for winger Bryan Rust, who the team relayed (Twitter link) is dealing with a lower-body injury.
The 27-year-old is in his first season with Pittsburgh after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in free agency following a non-tender from Montreal. While Harvey-Pinard has 84 games of NHL experience (where he has a respectable 17 goals and 14 assists), he wasn’t able to secure a roster spot with Pittsburgh in training camp and passed through waivers unclaimed back in October.
Since then, Harvey-Pinard has played exclusively in the minors with relatively middling numbers offensively. Through 32 games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has seven goals and six assists, along with 27 penalty minutes. While those numbers don’t scream promotion-worthy, he can play on both wings, giving the team a bit of versatility should they need to call upon him to play.
Pittsburgh had one open roster spot, so they didn’t need to make a demotion or IR placement to make room for Harvey-Pinard on the roster. However, their group is now full at 23 players.
Waivers: 10/4/25
With a little over 48 hours remaining before season-opening rosters need to be submitted to the league, it’s expected to be a very busy weekend on the waiver wire. Not surprisingly, it’s another big list of players on waivers today as 17 players have been put there, per PuckPedia. Meanwhile, all 12 players on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Here’s today’s list of players on the wire:
Dallas Stars
F Cameron Hughes
D Vladislav Kolyachonok
Florida Panthers
D Tobias Bjornfot
G Brandon Bussi
New Jersey Devils
F Thomas Bordeleau
F Angus Crookshank
F Brian Halonen
F Zack MacEwen
D Colton White
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Alexander Alexeyev
D Ryan Graves
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard
F Bokondji Imama
F Samuel Poulin
San Jose Sharks
Utah Hockey Club
Graves is the headliner in today’s class, primarily due to his contract which has four years left on it. We covered his situation in more detail earlier today.
Among the rest of the players, Bjornfot is no stranger to being in this situation but he has been claimed twice before. He spent most of last season in the minors with Florida but did get into 14 games with the Panthers and has 134 games at the top level under his belt. Alexeyev played sparingly last season with Washington not wanting to risk losing him for nothing on waivers but it appears that Pittsburgh doesn’t have that same level of hesitance. Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was claimed off waivers by the Penguins back in February before being flipped to Dallas over the summer so it’s possible another team might have their eye on him as well. Gilbert signed with the Flyers this summer after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo but while the thought was that he’d at least be able to land a seventh role, that isn’t the case.
As for the forwards, San Jose’s White is by far the most experienced with 323 NHL appearances. However, he has primarily been an AHL player in recent years and it’s likely that he will clear and be assigned to the Barracuda. Poulin was a 2019 first-round pick but hasn’t seen much time with the Penguins, including just seven games last season. But at 24, he’s young enough to potentially be of interest to a team that wants to take a longer look at him. Bordeleau held his own in 27 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 but only played once for them last season before being moved in July in a swap of AHL players. But like Poulin, he’s young enough (23) to potentially draw attention.
These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.
Penguins Sign Rafael Harvey-Pinard To Two-Way Contract
The Penguins have signed free agent winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard to a two-way contract, the team confirmed in a press release. They also officially finalized previously reported contracts for Anthony Mantha and Philip Kemp. Harvey-Pinard will earn $775K in the NHL and $450K in the AHL with a $525K guarantee, per PuckPedia.
Harvey-Pinard first popped up on the NHL radar as an overage selection out of QMJHL Rouyn-Noranda, going to the Canadiens in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. He turned pro with the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s AHL affiliate, in 2020-21 before making his NHL debut the following season on a four-game call-up.
After producing well in Laval to begin his pro career, Harvey-Pinard got an extended NHL look later in the 2022-23 campaign after Cole Caufield went down with a shoulder injury. He got reps in top-six duties alongside Nick Suzuki and produced quite well, scoring 14 goals and six assists for 20 points in 34 games.
Injuries have since derailed the 26-year-old’s career, and he never found that spark again. Last season, he wasn’t cleared to play until late November after sustaining a broken leg during the offseason and cleared waivers upon his return. In addition to only getting one NHL appearance in 2024-25, his minor-league production was also dreadful. After consistently producing around a 0.80 points per game clip earlier in his career with Laval, he had just five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 40 games for them last year.
The 5’9″ winger will now try to jumpstart his production in the Penguins organization. It’s a no-risk signing for Pittsburgh, who might even have a spot on their opening night roster for Harvey-Pinard if he impresses in camp, if they shop forwards like Noel Acciari, Kevin Hayes, and Danton Heinen this summer as speculated. He likely wraps up Pittsburgh’s depth signings with 46 out of a possible 50 contracts now on the books for this season.
Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.
Canadiens Reassign Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
The Canadiens loaned winger Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to AHL Laval on Friday, according to a team announcement. They now have a pair of open roster spots, with PuckPedia reflecting that Emil Heineman was also transferred to injured reserve earlier in the week.
Harvey-Pinard, 26, made his season debut in Thursday’s shutout loss to the Wild. He posted zeroes across the board in 8:54 of ice time, recording one hit. Montreal was outshot 4-2 with him on the ice at even strength.
It was a quiet showing amid a quiet season for the 5’9″ winger. A broken leg sustained during offseason training kept him out of training camp and on the shelf until mid-November, when the Canadiens assigned him to the minors on a long-term injury conditioning loan. They opted not to reinstate him to the active roster when his loan was up and instead placed him on waivers to keep him in Laval long-term. That was a semi-risky move, considering he’s on an expiring contract at an affordable $1.1MM cap hit and had 14 goals and 20 points in only 34 games two seasons ago, but there were no takers on the wire.
Thirty-one other NHL teams made the right call. Harvey-Pinard has struggled since his late start to the season, scoring only four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 24 games with Laval. He’s on pace for easily the worst offensive showing of his five-year professional career, especially after he logged 31 points in 40 games in his last extended AHL stint in 2022-23.
The Habs recalled Harvey-Pinard last weekend as the Habs wanted an extra forward with Heineman on the shelf, but he sat twice as a healthy scratch before entering the lineup. His lack of NHL usage and disappointing minor-league play this season makes it unlikely that he’ll receive his $1MM qualifying offer from Montreal at the end of the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Heineman’s IR placement does not affect his return timeline. He hasn’t played since sustaining an upper-body injury as a pedestrian in a traffic action on Jan. 13 while the team was in Utah and is expected to remain out of the lineup for around another week.
Canadiens Recall Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Montreal has added some extra forward depth in advance of their game tonight against New Jersey. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard from AHL Laval.
The 26-year-old started the season on injured reserve, missing the first 22 games with a leg injury. Following a conditioning stint with the Rocket, he then cleared waivers at the beginning of December and has been with them ever since. Harvey-Pinard has played in 24 games with Laval this season, recording four goals and seven assists.
Harvey-Pinard has seen extensive NHL time in the last two years. In 2022-23, he impressed as a midseason recall, ultimately collecting 14 goals and six assists in 34 games. That helped earn him a two-year, $2.2MM contract in the 2023 offseason. But things didn’t go as well for him last year as he was limited to just two goals and eight helpers in 45 appearances while also missing time due to injuries.
Montreal hasn’t had much success filling Emil Heineman‘s spot on the fourth line since he was struck by a car in Utah last week. Veteran Michael Pezzetta has been given several looks but has failed to clear five minutes of playing time in any of his last seven games. Prospect Owen Beck received a two-game look but has since been returned to the minors and now it appears Harvey-Pinard will get a chance to reclaim his spot from last season on that line.
With the recall, Montreal’s active roster is now full. Jayden Struble remains on the roster while on a conditioning loan to Laval while despite Heineman’s injury, they’ve elected not to place him on injured reserve just yet.
Canadiens Place Rafaël Harvey-Pinard On Waivers
12/1: Harvey-Pinard has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
11/30: According to a team announcement, the Montreal Canadiens are ready to activate forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard from the long-term injured reserve. Harvey-Pinard won’t return to the Canadiens once his LTIR conditioning loan concludes as the organization shared they’ve placed him on waivers.
It’s been a long road to recovery for Harvey-Pinard after undergoing surgery in late July to repair a broken leg. He’s been on the shelf ever since with his last game in Montreal coming on the final game of the 2023-24 regular season.
His offensive output depressed last season going from scoring 20 points in 34 contests during the 2022-23 season to scoring 10 points in 45 games last year. His recent conditioning stint in Laval didn’t do much to inspire confidence as Harvey-Pinard only managed one goal in five games with a -4 rating.
He’ll get an extended look in the AHL should he clear waivers by tomorrow afternoon. It’s been two years since Harvey-Pinard spent significant time with the AHL Rocket scoring 16 goals and 31 points in 40 games during the 2022-23 AHL season. Montreal will also eliminate $1.1MM from their LTIR pool no matter what happens with Harvey-Pinard.
The Canadiens will have a home for Harvey-Pinard should he recover his confidence in the AHL. Montreal is 21st in the league in scoring with a number of their goals coming from the combination of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The organization hopes that Harvey-Pinard will regain his offensive capabilities in the AHL to re-capture a consistent role in the team’s middle six.
Canadiens Assign Rafaël Harvey-Pinard On LTIR Conditioning Loan
The Canadiens reassigned winger Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to AHL Laval on a long-term injury conditioning loan on Tuesday, per a team announcement.
Harvey-Pinard, 25, has missed the entire season after sustaining a broken leg during offseason training in late July. He was given a five-month return timeline, so being close to ready for game action is no surprise.
The 5’9″ left-winger started skating at the end of October and has been taking contact in practice for around a week. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reported Saturday that the 2019 seventh-round pick was close to a return.
He can spend up to two weeks in Laval before the Habs must decide whether he’s healed enough to return to NHL action and activate him from LTIR. He remains off the active roster for now, but with an open spot and $7.6MM remaining in their LTIR pool, there will be no issue fitting him back on the roster when he’s ready to return.
Last season was Harvey-Pinard’s first as a full-time NHLer, although a nagging lower-body injury limited him to 45 games. He skated squarely in a bottom-six role, averaging 12:38 per night and scoring two goals and eight assists for 10 points with only 26 shots on goal.
That was a far cry from the numbers RHP put up after being recalled from Laval midway through the 2022-23 campaign. The diminutive winger got a shot at top-six minutes with star sniper Cole Caufield undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery, and he responded with 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games, tying for fourth on the team in goals by season’s end.
Harvey-Pinard’s injuries were likely one of many factors that limited his production last year. In 83 career NHL appearances, the Quebec native has 17 goals and 31 points with a +3 rating. That’s likely more indicative of his long-term ceiling, given his strong offensive numbers with Laval, which would be a spectacular result for such a late-round pick.
Harvey-Pinard will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer after completing the two-year, $2.2MM deal he signed as an RFA in 2023.