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Penguins Prospect Peyton Kettles To Undergo Surgery

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The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t get to watch one of their recent top picks for some time. The WHL’s Kelowna Rockets defenseman Peyton Kettles has sustained a shoulder injury that will require surgery, the junior team announced on Tuesday. Kettles is listed as out indefinitely, likely jeporadizing his chance to crack Team Canada’s lineup at the 2026 World Junior Championships.

Pittsburgh drafted Kettles in the second-round, marking what was yet another controversial pick from general manager Kyle Dubas and his team at the 2025 NHL Draft. To some, Kettles’ long reach and shutdown defense stood out like gold among a draft class lacking projectable fundamentals. But to others, his lack of jump or offensive upside seemed to hold him back.

Kettles has worked to alleviate those latter concerns through the early season. He recorded two points and seven penalty minutes – one minor penalty and one fight – in two games with the Swift Current Broncos to start the season. Then, he was traded to Kelowna in a truly massive deal that sent defenseman Jackson Gillespie, one first-round pick, two second-round picks, and two fourth-round picks back to Swift Current. Just over two weeks after that deal, Kettles will now land on the sideline.

This is an unfortunate blow for a defender who was not only on the rise, but truly working to silence his doubters. He is still a projectable pro talent, playing wtih a strong stick and patient fundamentals that mirros many current Penguins defensemen, like Jack St. Ivany and Ryan Shea. Surgery is far from the most ideal outcome, but it will hopefully help Pittsburgh ensure that the reigning 39th-overall pick is able to work back to full health with no complications.

Kettles was on pace for 33 points, 165 penalty minutes, and a plus-22 through 55 games this season prior to his injury, per EliteProspects. He’ll hope to continue marching towards that lofty statline before the Spring, though more about his true timeline will likely be revealed in the weeks to come.

Metropolitan Notes: Holmström, Jarry, St. Ivany

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New York Islanders forward Simon Holmström will be a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game against the Dallas Stars due to an illness. He would leave a notable hole in the Islanders lineup if he can’t take the ice. Holmström is one of eight Islanders forwards to play in all 19 games this season. He has four goals and nine points in those appearances – ranking him seventh on the team in goals and ninth in points.

Holmström’s scoring hasn’t taken off yet this season, but his lineup role has grown over the year nonetheless. He averaged over 18 minutes in ice time over New York’s recent four-game winnning streak, helped along by three of those games going into overtime. Holmström’s growing role is largely thanks to his impact away from the puck. He leads the team’s forwards with 22 blocked shots, and ranks fifth in takeaways with four. He’s shown a nice bit of well-roundedness after scoring 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games last season. The Islanders will hope to continue getting that toolsy impact on Tuesday. If Holmström can’t play, the team will likely turn towards Kyle MacLean, who has one assist in 10 appearances this season.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry returned to the team’s practices on Tuesday per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Jarry hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury on November 3rd. He was off to an impressive start before the two-week absence, recording a .911 save percentage and five wins through seven starts. 21-year-old Sergey Murashov has emerged as an interesting piece in Jarry’s absence. He posted his first career win – a shutout – in Pittsburgh’s NHL Global Series matchup against the Nashville Predators on Sunday. Pittsburgh is unlikely to let a rookie goaltender usurp their veteran starter, but Jarry’s return could push Murashov into a competition for the backup role with Arturs Silovs, who has a .918 save percentage and four wins in 10 games.
  • Penguins defenseman Jack St. Ivany also returned to practice donning a no-contact jersey on Tuesday, per Rorabaugh. St. Ivany sustained an injury to his right foot in a preseason matchup on October 1st. He was originally designated to the non-roster injured list, meaning Pittsburgh will need to clear a roster spot to activate him from season-opening injured reserve – as they will when they activate Jarry. St. Ivany split last season between the NHL and AHL rosters. He scored one assist in 19 games with Pittsburgh, and 16 points in 37 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. That deployment could make him a prime candidate for an AHL conditioning loan, or even an AHL assignment, once he’s back to full health.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Philip Tomasino On Waivers

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Pittsburgh Penguins have placed forward Philip Tomasino on waivers today.

This move could end Tomasino’s tenure in Pittsburgh just one year removed from when the team traded a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators to acquire him. The Penguins likely viewed Tomasino as a player who could potentially benefit from a change of scenery. The 2019 first-round pick was once viewed as one of the Predators’ top prospects.

The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked Tomasino No. 2 in the Predators’ system in 2021, writing at the time that he saw “clear top-six upside” and a player who was a “multi-faceted play-driver” that could still find a way to impact games even without consistent puck touches.

After Tomasino’s rookie season in 2021-22, it looked like Tomasino was still on track to living up to the hype he’d garnered as a prospect. He scored 11 goals and 32 points, providing useful secondary scoring to a Predators team that reached the playoffs. Tomasino would go on to score 38 points across his next 72 NHL games in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but those numbers didn’t tell the whole story.

Tomasino’s propensity for defensive lapses and inability to consistently win puck battles or play through the middle of the ice cost him the trust of Predators head coach Andrew Brunette, who took the team to the playoffs and won 47 games in his first season at the helm in Nashville. Tomasino averaged 15:36 time-on-ice under John Hynes the year prior, but his ice time fell to just 12:34 per game under Brunette.

After Tomasino scored just one point in 11 games to start 2024-25, the Predators traded him to Pittsburgh. Initially, the Penguins’ bet seemed to be paying off, as Tomasino scored three goals and four points in his first five games with the Penguins. The rest of the way, it was a relatively similar story to Tomasino’s time in Nashville. He had decent box score numbers (23 points in 50 games, a 38-point 82-game pace) but lackluster all-around impact.

While it’s come on an accelerated timeline, Tomasino’s time in Pittsburgh appears to have followed a similar track to his time in Nashville. There were those aforementioned early flashes, followed by passable scoring numbers and a sense that he consistently left fans and coaches wanting more.

So far in his second season in Pittsburgh, Tomasino’s time has gone similarly to his later tenure as a Predator. A coaching change happened, and he’s not nearly as trusted by new head coach Dan Muse as he was under former coach Mike Sullivan. Tomasino’s ice time has again declined to just over 12 minutes per night, and he’s found himself a healthy scratch on some nights, just as he was in Nashville.

Over the last few weeks, there was a growing sense in the media that Tomasino’s days on the Penguins’ NHL roster could be numbered.

The Athletic’s Josh Yohe reported on Oct. 27 that the Penguins were “not thrilled with Tomasino’s current play,” and that when he was still in Pittsburgh, Sullivan “believed that Tomasino concerned himself too much with his statistics and the scoresheet and not enough with the finer aspects of the game.” Yohe also wrote that Tomasino had been “painfully invisible” in games so far in 2025-26.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Matt Vensel wrote earlier this month about how Muse had implored Tomasino to find a way to consistently “impact the game” and forge his own identity as a player at the NHL level.

Vensel wrote at the time that Tomasino “would presumably be on a short list of players they would consider sending down” in the event that the Penguins needed to clear a roster spot if his play did not improve dramatically, and if he remained unable to impact the game in the kind of way Muse wanted him to.

Based on his placement on waivers today, it appears the Penguins may feel Tomasino is not likely to discover that identity, or find a way to consistently impact the game, in Pittsburgh.

It’s important to note, of course, that Tomasino remains just 24 years old, and despite his struggle to establish himself as an NHLer, remains a player with legitimate offensive talents. While things haven’t worked out in Pittsburgh, there are only so many players going around who possess an ability to dazzle with puck skills and offensive ability.

While Tomasino has only been able to show off those talents on an inconsistent basis at the NHL level, it’s possible another club could look to claim Tomasino and see if their coaching staff can unlock the potential Tomasino wasn’t able to realize with his prior two teams.

Photos courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Penguins Place Ville Koivunen On IR, Recall Samuel Poulin

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According to a team announcement, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Samuel Poulin from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Additionally, Pittsburgh has placed forward Ville Koivunen on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

There’s no questioning that Poulin has earned another opportunity at the NHL level. The former 21st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft is currently the leading scorer on the AHL Penguins with seven goals and 15 points in 16 games with a +8 rating.

Factoring in last year’s performance, in which he scored 19 goals and 43 points in 57 games, Poulin could provide additional offense to Pittsburgh’s bottom-six. Unfortunately, he has yet to show any flashes of offense at the NHL level, registering two assists in 13 games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

Still, it’s an inspiring recovery from a prospect that nearly left the game entirely during the 2022-23 season. Poulin took a leave of absence from the AHL Penguins early into that campaign, citing mental health concerns after suffering from a panic attack during a game. Coming off the best AHL performance of his career and starting the 2025-26 campaign with nearly a point-per-game, Poulin may have finally turned a corner in his development.

Meanwhile, the Penguins noted in their announcement that Koivunen’s lower-body injury will likely keep him out of the lineup for the next few weeks. The former draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes had skated in 11 games for Pittsburgh this season, tallying two assists while averaging 12:34 of ice time per game.

Penguins’ Ville Koivunen Out Day-To-Day

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced early on Sunday that rookie winger Ville Koivunen is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He will be out of the lineup when Pittsburgh takes on the Nashville Predators in the second game of the NHL Global Series in Stockholm. Koivunen left the Penguins’ Saturday practice early, with no indication as to why, until this injury announcement.

Koivunen has recorded one assist and six shots on net through his last four appearances. Those marks bring him up to  two assists and 14 shots on goal in 11 games this season. He has operated out of a fourth-line role, which will make his absence easier to address. Danton Heinen is expected to draw back into the lineup for the fourth time this season. He has no scoring, a minus-one, and one penalty in those appearances.

Pittsburghs hould turn quickly back to their first-year Finn when he’s back to full health. Koivunen may still be finding his stride in the NHL, but he remains the leader in points-per-game in the AHL, with 11 points in six games (1.83 per-game). He posted a similar season last year, netting 21 goals and 56 points in 63 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, to go along with seven points in eight NHL games. Koivunen was also a scoring star in Finland’s Liiga, where he posted 113 points in 164 games and three seasons. He’s a volume shooter who knows how to drive the puck down the ice. It seems a question of when, not if, he’ll finds a scoring breakout this season.

Penguins Activate And Assign Rutger McGroarty And Joel Blomqvist

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The Penguins have had two of their better prospects return to full health.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Rutger McGroarty and goaltender Joel Blomqvist have been activated off season-opening injured reserve.  They have been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

McGroarty was acquired from Winnipeg last year in a swap of 14th overall picks but spent the bulk of his rookie year in the minors.  He made Pittsburgh’s roster out of training camp but was sent down after just three games.  He played in 60 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, picking up 14 goals and 25 assists.  That earned McGroarty a recall in late March and he did well with it, putting up three points in five games down the stretch.

McGroarty had been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained before training camp as he didn’t take part in their rookie tournament or the preseason.  Since he spent some time on Pittsburgh’s roster last season, he was carrying a reduced cap charge of just over $148K which will now come off their books.

As for Blomqvist, he came close to an even split between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.  He got into 15 games at the top level and had some struggles, putting up a 3.81 GAA and a .885 SV% in his first taste of NHL action.  Meanwhile, in the minors, he posted a 2.84 GAA and a .914 SV%.  That’s certainly better than his time with Pittsburgh but it was also worse than his rookie-season performance that saw him compile a 2.16 GAA and a .921 SV% in 45 outings in 2024-25.

For a while, it looked like Blomqvist was going to be Tristan Jarry’s backup heading into the season but that changed when they acquired Arturs Silovs from Vancouver in the summer.  While there could be a short-term recall option for him with Jarry currently injured and Sergei Murashov serving as the backup, the better play development-wise might simply be to get him as much game action as possible in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  Like McGroarty, Blomqvist had a reduced cap charge while on SOIR (tied to how many days he was on Pittsburgh’s roster) so this move will take his revised $341K charge off their cap.

Canucks, Penguins Reportedly Interested In David Kämpf

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It’s only been a few hours since David Kämpf had his contract terminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and interested teams are already coming to light. In his recent rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins were interested in signing the freshly minted unrestricted free agent.

Of all the teams that could be interested in Kämpf, the Canucks make the most sense. The team is dealing with longer-term injuries to Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger, which have further thinned an already depleted center core. Behind Elias Pettersson, the team is utilizing Max Sasson, Aatu Räty, and recently acquired Lukas Reichel as their next three options.

That’s not to suggest that Kämpf should be considered a cure-all to Vancouver’s woes, though he would be an improvement on their existing bottom-six options. The 30-year-old center has scored 31 goals and 85 points in 301 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last four years, with a 51.7% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s interest may come from familiarity with Kämpf’s game. The Penguins General Manager and President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, brought Kämpf to the Maple Leafs ahead of the 2021-22 season on a two-year, $3MM contract. Brad Traveling was at the helm when Toronto signed Kämpf to the four-year, $9.6MM deal that was terminated this morning.

Still, the Penguins don’t have a true need for Kämpf outside of the front office’s familiarity. The team is already relatively deep at center with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kevin Hayes as their top-three options, and has put a premium on bringing in younger players — not additional ones that have already cleared the 30-year threshold.

There are a few additional teams, such as the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils, that could use more forward depth in their bottom six. Still, given that teams are already being named, Kämpf shouldn’t expect to remain a UFA for very long.

Will The Penguins Contend For The Playoffs?

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The Penguins entered the season with modest playoff hopes, at best. After 17 games, they sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5-3 record. Although they’ve cooled off recently, they remain competitive and are dealing with numerous injuries to Rickard Rakell, Justin Brazeau, Filip Hallander, Tristan Jarry, Joel Blomqvist, Caleb Jones, and Noel Acciari.

Some might look at that list and dismiss the talent of those players, but it means they are without four regular forwards, one of their top six defensemen, and half their goaltending tandem. That’s a significant hurdle early in the season, especially for a team whose depth isn’t particularly strong. It raises the question: Can Pittsburgh weather this storm and realistically compete for a playoff spot this year?

The simple answer is yes. The talent level is aging, but it remains. The Penguins continue to rely on Sidney Crosby (11 goals and 20 points in 17 GP) and Evgeni Malkin (21 points in 17 GP) at forward, both of whom have been excellent early in the year, as has Erik Karlsson on the back end. The main question facing the Penguins, aside from dealing with injuries, is whether a team this old can maintain this level of play over a full 82-game schedule.

In Malkin’s case, it’s less apparent because he started last season strong as well, especially in October, when he went on a tear with a 3-11–14 scoring line in 12 games. His numbers then declined significantly as the season progressed. Crosby, however, usually improves as the season progresses, which suggests he might reach another level this year – an impressive feat considering he’s 38 years old.

Karlsson also appears to be a different player this season, and it will be interesting to see how his season unfolds. He seems more committed defensively and has been much more responsible with the puck this year, while demonstrating his elite skill and skating ability. His possession numbers back that up – only Parker Wotherspoon, his partner, has a higher shot-attempt share at even strength among Penguins defenders than Karlsson’s 50.7%. If he can keep this level of play throughout the year, alongside Malkin and Crosby, the Penguins have a strong chance of making the playoffs.

Then there is the wild card: Pittsburgh’s goaltending. Jarry remains an unpredictable performer. He’s been a two-time All-Star before, but he’s also shown inconsistency when the pressure ramps up. In any other year, you might see Pittsburgh’s goaltending as a weakness that could push them out of the playoffs, as has been the case in recent seasons. However, this year feels different for the Penguins, with Arturs Silovs, who has played very well early on, and rookie sensation Sergei Murashov, who just made his NHL debut earlier this week. These two young players, along with Jarry and even Blomqvist, form a very respectable rotation, even if they are largely unproven at the NHL level. Together, their .911 SV% ranks second in the league behind only the Blackhawks.

The cynic might examine Pittsburgh’s goaltending and argue that it is unproven, therefore unreliable, and perhaps (in the case of Jarry) a potential obstacle to their postseason chances. In most years, that might be true, but considering Jarry’s recent track record, it’s tough to see Pittsburgh giving him much leniency regarding his performance, and they probably wouldn’t hesitate to send him to the AHL if he doesn’t meet expectations. Pittsburgh did that several times last year, and since they’ve already sent high-priced defenseman Ryan Graves to the minors, they have no qualms about hurting the feelings of their veteran players.

Speaking of Graves, his signing on July 1, 2023, was supposed to mark the start of a lengthy stint on Pittsburgh’s defense, where he’d be in the Penguins’ top four. That hasn’t come to pass, and Graves was sent to the AHL to begin the season. Graves accepted the demotion professionally and went down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he dominated the AHL, recording a goal and six assists in 10 games along with a +9 rating. However, the reality remains that his play in Pittsburgh has been poor for two seasons, and if he can’t put together a solid stretch of performance at the NHL level, he’ll find himself back in the AHL.

Graves’ inability to remain an NHL player has created uncertainty on the left side of the Penguins’ defense. Up to this point in the season, Ryan Shea, Wotherspoon, Caleb Jones, and, to a lesser extent, Graves have held the fort and been steady enough to support a surging Karlsson and a struggling Letang. Shea, Wotherspoon, Jones, and Graves all deserve credit for their efforts, as they are all asked to play above their typical roles and are doing a decent job, especially considering what they are paid (outside of Graves, who is making $4.5MM this year).

Shea and Wotherspoon, in particular, have been a surprise, as neither man was expected to be more than a fifth or sixth defenseman. There is a fair argument that they are both currently top-four defenders on the Penguins. Shea is a real surprise, and granted, his success thus far is somewhat predicated on luck with a 103.7 PDO. But he’s already set a career high in points in just 17 games and hasn’t been a liability in the top four.

The same can be said for Wotherspoon with a 103.6 PDO, but his play has been less about luck and more about playing a responsible, sound defensive game. There is nothing flashy about Wotherspoon, and he isn’t going to put up much offense, but he does have a bit of a track record of success from last year in Boston, although that was playing 18 minutes a night in a third-pairing role. In Pittsburgh, Wotherspoon has been a terrific top-pairing partner for Karlsson and has replicated what Marc Methot used to offer Karlsson a decade ago in Ottawa, without all the physicality. Wotherspoon has been able to support Karlsson’s play in a way that has allowed the three-time Norris Trophy winner to play his game without the fear of the puck always ending up in the back of the Penguins’ net. Wotherspoon has been one of several pleasant surprises for the Penguins this season, and perhaps the most important given the lack of depth on the left side of their defense.

Many pundits believed the Penguins were a few years away from competing and saw some of their free agency signings this year as patchwork moves to fill out the lineup, but they have proved to be much more than that. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas entered free agency knowing the team wouldn’t be big spenders; instead of spending a lot, Dubas chose short-term, low-risk bets on players who had either dealt with injuries (Anthony Mantha) or lacked opportunity (Brazeau and Wotherspoon). Whether by design or luck, Dubas has rebuilt the Penguins’ farm system and NHL roster, and it looks likely they will be in the playoff hunt as the season continues, barring a collapse or multiple injuries.

Latest On Penguins' Trade Plans

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  • The Pittsburgh Penguins were expected by most to be one of the NHL’s weaker teams in 2025-26, but so far they’ve flipped the script on those observers to start this season. First-year head coach Dan Muse has his Penguins sitting seventh place in the NHL standings with a 9-5-1 record. Their strong play threatens to alter the team’s calculus when it comes to deciding whether to trade their key veteran contributors. The Athletic’s Josh Yohe wrote today that “As long as the Penguins keep playing like they have been, I don’t see [Bryan Rust, Erik Karlsson, or Rickard Rakell] being traded.” That’s a big deal for the Penguins, who regardless of their struggles in past years, are likely to want to give the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang the chance to make one last run for a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh.

Penguins Sign William Dufour To AHL PTO

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The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliates of the Pittsburgh Penguins, announced today that they have signed forward William Dufour to an AHL PTO.

With this PTO signing, Dufour returns to North American pro hockey after a short period away. The 23-year-old began this season playing for Lada Tolyatti in the KHL, but only lasted seven games before returning to his home province of Quebec to play in the LNAH. After a short stint in the LNAH, playing there presumably to stay fit while waiting for a new high-level pro opportunity, he’s now found a new place to play in the AHL.

A 2020 fifth-round pick of the New York Islanders, Dufour was once seen as one of the club’s more promising prospects. In 2022, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman ranked Dufour as the No. 2 prospect in the Islanders’ system, stating at the time that Dufour “projects as a second-line winger with a chance to be a major value pick by the Islanders.” Dufour rocketed up prospect lists after a stellar final season in the QMJHL, one where he scored a whopping 56 goals and 116 points in just 66 games.

Dufour made his pro debut in the fall of 2022 with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, and his rookie campaign in the AHL was a success. He scored 21 goals and 48 points in 69 games, and after the season, was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Islanders’ system by Elite Prospects.

Those high rankings from public-facing scouts did not translate to sustained pro success, though, as Dufour’s first AHL season has proven to be his best thus far. He managed only 25 points the following season, and scored 22 points in 2024-25. He was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in the middle of last season as part of the Brock Nelson deal, but was non-tendered by the Avalanche after putting up just four points in 12 games for their AHL affiliate.

Still just 23 years old, Dufour now has an opportunity in front of him to re-establish himself as a quality AHL player. The AHL Penguins currently rank second in the AHL in goals scored, so Dufour has the advantage of joining one of the league’s high-powered offenses.

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