- Penguins winger Bokondji Imama has played in a career-high 11 NHL games this season after being recalled in late January. A pending unrestricted free agent, he recently told reporters including Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he’s hoping to remain with the organization for next season. At this point, a one-way contract likely remains out of reach but a two-way pact with a guarantee higher than the $400K he’s getting this season could be doable, especially if he plays somewhat of a regular role with Pittsburgh down the stretch.
Penguins Rumors
Morning Notes: Pietila, Rondbjerg, Klingberg
Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Chase Pietila has signed an ATO with their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Pietila is fresh off signing a three-year ELC with Pittsburgh earlier this week and will finish out the year getting his first taste of professional hockey in the AHL.
The Penguins drafted Pietila in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old spent this past year in the NCAA with Michigan Tech where he registered seven goals and 15 assists in 36 games. Pietila spent two years in the NCAA after spending the previous three seasons in the USHL.
In other morning notes:
- The Vegas Golden Knights have assigned forward Jonas Rondbjerg to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL (as per SinBin.vegas). Rondbjerg was recalled earlier in the week and dressed in the Golden Knights’ loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night but played just 6:02 and was held scoreless. The demotion is no surprise given that Vegas just welcomed back Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev to their lineup. The 25-year-old Rondbjerg has no points in 12 NHL games this season and has averaged just 9:21 of ice time per game.
- Edmonton Oilers defenseman John Klingberg didn’t play in last night’s game against the New Jersey Devils as he continues to deal with an undisclosed injury. The 32-year-old hasn’t played since March 4th after signing a one-year deal with the Oilers in mid-January. Klingberg has produced offense when healthy, posting a goal and three assists in 10 games. The Oilers are back in action tonight against the New York Islanders and given the tight timeline it seems unlikely that he will play. However, he did re-join the Oilers yesterday at practice and has been travelling with the team (as per Sportsnet).
Penguins Assign Sebastian Aho And Matt Nieto To AHL
Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman Sebastian Aho and forward Matt Nieto to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.
Nieto has had a tumultuous second season with the Penguins, missing nearly half of the year with a knee injury. He returned to the lineup in mid-November and dressed in 31 NHL games, registering a goal and two assists with a -8 plus/minus rating. Nieto was then placed on waivers a few weeks ago and cleared before he was assigned to the AHL for the first time. The 32-year-old was recalled earlier this week, but didn’t see any game action and has not played an NHL game since February 23rd against the New York Rangers.
Nieto is in the final year of a two-year contract he signed on July 1st, 2023 and might not see any one-way NHL offers this summer given his injury concerns and lack of contributions at the NHL level.
Aho signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Penguins last summer but has not seen any NHL action this season. The 29-year-old spent the previous three seasons with the New York Islanders and was an NHL regular before this year. He was signed as depth but was unable to make the team out of training camp and has instead served as a veteran presence in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Aho has dressed in 17 AHL games this season and has posted seven assists. He may see some time in the NHL down the stretch as the Penguins are dealing with a few injuries to their defensive group.
Will The Penguins Try To Sign Mitch Marner?
In today’s mailbag, Josh Yohe of The Athletic took one major question regarding the possibility of the Pittsburgh Penguins taking a run at Mitch Marner should the winger hit unrestricted free agency this summer.
Yohe gave a two-pronged response to the question, illustrating the pros and cons of attempting to sign Marner. The Penguins are expected to have approximately $25MM in cap space for free agency, Marner has a previous relationship with general manager Kyle Dubas, and Marner worked well on a line with Sidney Crosby during the 4 Nations Faceoff. Still, given the Penguins’ trade activity throughout this season, Yohe doesn’t believe Dubas has indicated he’ll be aggressive in making a major addition this summer.
Pittsburgh having an interest in Marner makes sense on some levels. He’s having a career year with 21 goals and 80 points in 63 games and would give the Penguins an easier transition out of the Crosby era. However, given that he has yet to play meaningful hockey beyond Round Two of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Marner likely won’t be interested in joining a team that hasn’t reached the postseason in a few years.
Penguins Sign Avery Hayes To Entry-Level Deal
The Penguins have gotten another prospect signed to an entry-level deal. They announced they’ve signed undrafted free agent forward Avery Hayes to a two-year contract beginning next season, taking him through the 2026-27 campaign. Financial terms were not disclosed.
While Pittsburgh didn’t have Hayes’ exclusive signing rights, he’s not new to the organization. The 5’10” 22-year-old has spent the last two seasons on AHL contracts with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Last year was a tough adjustment to professional hockey coming out of the major junior ranks, limited to 6-3–9 in 29 games and had a brief demotion to ECHL Wheeling.
This season has been a breakout for Hayes, though. The Michigan native, who was initially eligible for the 2021 draft but was passed over multiple times, is tied for fifth on the Baby Pens in scoring with 17-18–35 in 44 games. He leads WBS forwards with a +17 rating. Among the top 100 U23 point-getters in the AHL, he was the only one not technically affiliated with an NHL team – until today.
His sophomore emergence gets rewarded with a two-year commitment from the organization, which now makes him eligible for an NHL recall starting next year. He becomes the 33rd player out of the maximum of 50 on the Pens’ books for 2025-26. He’ll be a restricted free agent when his ELC expires in 2027.
Hayes won two consecutive Ontario Hockey League championships in 2022 and 2023, albeit on two different teams – first the Hamilton Bulldogs, then the Peterborough Petes. The older brother of Blackhawks prospect Gavin Hayes is the third player to sign an ELC with Pittsburgh in the last four days, joining Chase Pietila and Daniel Laatsch.
Eastern Conference Notes: Sandin-Pellikka, Penguins, Hallander, Merilainen
The Detroit Red Wings are the biggest winners in a busy day for the Eastern Conference, following news that top defense prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka could join the team after his SHL season ends from Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now. Sandin-Pellikka is one of the top defense prospects across the NHL. He confidently leads U21 scoring in the SHL, Sweden’s top league, with 12 goals and 29 points in 46 games. Those totals also rank Sandin-Pellikka ninth among all SHL defensemen, regardless of age.
Sandin-Pellikka has been on a strict upward climb since Detroit drafted him 17th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. He earned his first full pro season with Skelleftea AIK last year, and managed an impressive 12 goals and 25 points in 53 total games as the team blazed their way to their first SHL championship since 2014. It was clear that Sandin-Pellikka was feeling out his lineup footing during the title run, improving from a menial role at the start of the year to a daily role by the end of the season. That growth has only continued this year, with Sandin-Pellikka now serving in a consistent top-pair role and earning upwards of 24 minutes a night.
Sandin-Pellikka was also a superstar at this year’s World Juniors Championships. He recorded four goals and 10 points in seven games while serving as Team Sweden’s captain. Those totals tied him for first on Team Sweden, and second in the tournament outright, in points. Sandin-Pellikka’s Skelleftea seems headed for another playoff run this season. The Red Wings will be watching it closely, with word that their star prospect could be headed over as soon as his SHL season ends.
Other notes floating around the Eastern Conference:
- Pittsburgh Penguins’ general manager Kyle Dubas is playing his usual games of salary cap gymnastics. The team shuffled forward Matthew Nieto and defenseman Sebastian Aho were swapped between the NHL and AHL rosters overnight, per Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh’s Tribune-Review Sports. The Penguins utilized an emergency recall on both players on Tuesday morning, but didn’t play either in their overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights. That fact forced Pittsburgh to return the pair to the minor leagues and utilize a standard recall to bring them back up. The Penguins have done just that, and will now have just two standard recalls remaining for the rest of the season. Nieto filled a depth role in the NHL at the start of the season, but was assigned to the minors after netting just three points in 31 games. Aho has been oft-injured this year, and returned from his latest absence earlier this month. He so far has seven assists in 17 AHL games this season.
- In other Penguins news, the team have also expressed interest in re-signing top SHL scorer Filip Haalander per Rorabaugh. Haalander ranks second in the SHL with 26 goals and 53 points in 51 games this season. He returned to the SHL last season, after two quiet years in the Penguins organization. Haalander totaled 61 points in 104 AHL games, and no points in three NHL games, before stepping away from North American pros. He scored 36 points in 51 games in his return to Sweden last season, and is now close to lapping those totals this year. Should he feel that hot scoring has given him the momentum he needed, it seems Haalander will have an open door to the club that originally drafted him in the second-round of the 2018 draft.
- Continuing to march around the Eastern Conference, the Ottawa Senators have returned third-string goaltender Leevi Merilainen to the minor leagues after recalling him on Tuesday. He served as the team’s backup goaltender in Tuesday night’s win over the Philadelphia Flyers, while star Linus Ullmark received a rest night. With Ullmark back up to speed, Merilainen will return to the minor leagues – where he’s posted a dazzling 12-7-3 record and .910 save percentage in 25 appearances. He’s been just as sharp in the NHL, with an 8-3-1 record and .925 save percentage in 12 games this season – while filling in for an injured Ullmark. Senators backup Anton Forsberg saved 20 out of 22 shots on Tuesday – enough to secure the win and maintain his spot above Merilainen on the depth chart, though that distance could soon be closing.
Tristan Jarry Bouncing Back Following AHL Stint
- After a two-month stint in the minors, it’s worth noting high-paid Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry has returned to form and then some since being recalled from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last week. He’s started both of Pittsburgh’s last two games with raucous results, guiding them to a pair of wins while allowing only three goals on 67 shots for a .955 SV%. The 29-year-old still has just a .891 mark on the year with a 10-8-4 record in 23 appearances and has three years remaining on his deal at a $5.375MM cap hit.
Thomas Novak Out With Lower-Body Injury
- Thomas Novak, a recent acquisition for the Pittsburgh Penguins, is day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com. Given the game’s proximity, it’s assumed that Novak suffered the injury in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. Novak has gone scoreless through his first two games as a Penguin, managing a -2 rating while averaging 13:01 of ice time per game.
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Penguins’ Ryan Shea, Pierre-Olivier Joseph Out Week-To-Week
Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters during his media availability Tuesday morning (via Josh Getzoff of SportsNet Pittsburgh). The team also updated the media that blue-liner Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been downgraded to week-to-week with the upper-body issue that’s already kept him out of the Pens’ last four games (per Wes Crosby of NHL.com).
Shea, 28, played a career-high 24:18 in Sunday’s win over the Wild, so it’s unclear when he sustained the injury. The career depth defenseman has seen his usage spike coming out of the 4 Nations break. After spending a good portion of the campaign as a healthy scratch, he’s now played in a season-high eight straight games, although that streak will end tonight against the Golden Knights. He has three points and an even rating while averaging 21:27 per game during that stretch, including his first career two-goal game against the Rangers on Feb. 23.
A two-way defender with conservative point production at the NHL level, the 6’2″ lefty is in his second NHL season. All his 61 career appearances have come in a Pittsburgh uniform, posting a 3-3–6 scoring line with a minus-six rating while averaging 14:44 per game. The former Blackhawks draft pick’s possession numbers have been good considering his defensively-skewed usage, controlling 49.5% of shot attempts at even strength since his debut last year while making 61.8% of his zone starts in the defensive end.
Shea is just four days removed from putting pen to paper on a one-year, $900K extension to keep him in Pittsburgh for the 2025-26 campaign. Now one of six defenders signed to one-way deals through next season with the Pens, he’s likely to see regular minutes again after avoiding minor-league assignments for the first time in his professional career in 2024-25.
Pittsburgh’s already thin defensive depth will be stretched even further with Joseph set to miss a few more games. He landed on injured reserve before the trade deadline, although since the roster limit has been lifted, it’s unclear whether Shea will join him on IR. Their absence necessitated the recall of Sebastian Aho from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this morning. He’s projected to serve as a healthy extra against Vegas while Ryan Graves re-enters the lineup after sitting as a scratch for the win in Minnesota.
Before his latest injury, Joseph had disappointed with one assist and a -15 rating in 24 games since being re-acquired from the Blues in December. A pending restricted free agent, he’s likely to be non-tendered by Pittsburgh for the second summer in a row.
Penguins Recall Matthew Nieto And Sebastian Aho
The Pittbsurgh Penguins have recalled forward Matthew Nieto and defenseman Sebastian Aho to the NHL roster. The pair bring over 800 games of collective NHL experience, with the lion’s share owned by the 32-year-old Nieto, who’s played in 704 career games.
This season has marked Nieto’s first time appearing in the minor leagues in over a decade. He successfully cleared waivers on February 27th, after posting just three points in 31 games in the season’s first half. Nieto didn’t make his season debut until mid-November, after undergoing two surgeries to address a knee injury that occurred nearly a year prior. The injury capped Nieto’s 2022-23 season at just four points in 22 appearances. He’s struggled to get his legs back under him ever since, and fell from Pittsburgh’s fourth-line, to the press box, and ultimately to the minor leagues over the course of this season.
The AHL assignment hasn’t sparked Nieto like some may have hoped. He has three points, two penalty minutes, and a plus-one through eight games – continuing his trend of menial scoring. Nieto hasn’t scored double-digit points since the 2022-23 season, when he potted 24 points in 81 games split between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. That total nearly rivaled his career-high of 26 points set in 74 games of the 2017-18 season. Nieto has been a career fourth-liner, amounting an 11-year career through two separate tenures with both the Sharks and Avalanche, before landing in Pittsburgh in 2023. He’s totaled 206 points in 704 career games, and seven points in 53 games with the Penguins.
Aho hasn’t proved too much more productive than his forward counterpart. He signed a two-year, $1.6MM contract with Pittsburgh this summer but has had terrible luck in seeing it through. Aho has suffered three separate injuries, ultimately holding him to just 17 AHL games and seven assists on the season. His latest injury forced Aho out of 22 games between January 4th and March 4th. He’s recorded one assist, two penalty minutes, a minus-one, and nine shots on net in three games since returning. With his sea legs back under him, Pittsburgh has opted to recall Aho for the first time this season.
The pair of Nieto and Aho will most likely serve as nothing more than depth options for Pittsburgh’s Tuesday night matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. They’ll operate behind Trade Deadline acquisitions Thomas Novak and Conor Timmins – and could be the first to step in should the new faces face any challenges with stepping into Pittsburgh’s lineup.