Penguins Announce Multiple Roster Moves and Changes
Ahead of their next contest, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a few changes to their NHL roster.
After a brutal loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning extending their losing streak to three games, the Pittsburgh Penguins made a flurry of roster transactions.
In one announcement, the Penguins moved Noel Acciari to injured reserve and re-assigned Joona Koppanen and Alex Nylander to the American Hockey League.
In their place, Jonathan Gruden, Valtteri Puustinen, and Marc Johnstone have all been recalled to the NHL roster.
Acciari has been dealing with a lower-body injury and has been out for three games.
In his most recent stint at the NHL level, Nylander played in a pair of games without recording a point; he’s been held from the score sheet in each of his five NHL games this season.
Koppanen made his Penguins debut in the first battle against the Philadelphia Flyers, but wasn’t much of a threat; he’s averaged under 7:30 of ice time in his three games played.
As for the recalls, the Penguins are hopeful these names can bring more to the table than the depth options that have already been given a shot.
Gruden made his NHL debut last season and is still on the hunt for a point in the league; in three games played with the Penguins last year he has averaged 5:20 of ice time.
In 21 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Gruden has recorded five goals and five assists for 10 total points.
Puustinen has only played in one NHL game in his professional career and that came in 2021-22; he recorded an assist in that game and has been vying for another shot ever since.
In 18 games with WBS, Puustinen has the same stat line as Gruden with five goals and five assists.
Johnstone joined the Penguins this offseason and was recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ AHL team under the management of Kyle Dubas.
Despite being 27-years-old with four years of professional hockey experience, Johnstone is yet to make his NHL debut.
In 21 games played this year with WBS, Johnstone has notched a pair of goals and three assists for five points.
We’ll see where they all fall in the lineup and if head coach Mike Sullivan has anymore tricks up his sleeve for their next battle against the Florida Panthers.
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