The Penguins will be without Trevor van Riemsdyk for at least a little while after placing the veteran defenseman on injured reserve Monday.
Van Riemsdyk had appeared in Pittsburgh’s first five games of the 2026-27 season, but he was held out Saturday night against the Dallas Stars because of a lower-body injury. At the time, the team had labeled him day-to-day. Now, with the IR move in place, he’s not eligible to come back until Saturday, when the Penguins face the Vegas Golden Knights.
That timeline means he’ll miss Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh’s first stop on its Mountain Time road trip, a meeting with the Colorado Avalanche.
Through his first five appearances this season, the Middletown, N.J. native has yet to record a point. He’s sitting at minus-1, with four penalty minutes, while averaging 18:48 of ice time.
Van Riemsdyk is in his first season with the Penguins after signing a two-year deal in July that carries a $4 million annual average value through the 2027-28 campaign. Pittsburgh brought him in after six seasons with the Washington Capitals, where he filled a steady depth role on a club that was in the playoff mix year after year. Last season, he played 68 games, scored three goals and finished with 14 points, along with a plus-6 rating and 16:14 of average ice time.
Across 756 regular-season NHL games, Van Riemsdyk has produced 28 goals and 133 assists for 161 points. His career also includes six points in 45 postseason games. He broke into the league with the Blackhawks more than a decade ago and also spent three years with the Carolina Hurricanes.
In Other News...
Sabres Just Added A New Concern To Their Blue Line Depth
Buffalos blue line depth took another hit with a minor trade on Tuesday, as the Sabres and Penguins swapped organization-level defensemen in a move that could still ripple beyond the AHL roster. Pittsburgh picked up Ryan Johnson, while Buffalo brought in Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch, with all three players currently assigned to minor league teams. For the Penguins, it is a low-risk way to add another young defenseman to the system and see whether Johnson can carve out a path within a different organization.
For Buffalo, the deal closes the book on Johnsons time in the organization after a long run that began when he was drafted in 2019. Jones is the name most likely to matter in the short term, since he is expected to give the Sabres some defensive insurance while injuries continue to test the teams depth. The rest of the move is more about rearranging pieces than making an immediate NHL impact, but it is the kind of transaction that can quietly shape what a team has available when the season starts to wear on. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Head Into Tough Trip With One Big Question Still Unsettled
After a rough start to the week against Winnipeg and Washington, the Penguins steadied themselves enough to pick up three of a possible four points in back-to-back games against Columbus and Dallas. The Dallas showing in particular offered a better snapshot of where the group can be when it is skating with purpose, and now the next test arrives quickly as Pittsburgh opens a difficult road trip in Chicago.
The trip brings the usual lineup and goalie questions into sharper focus, especially with the Penguins trying to keep momentum while making small adjustments around the edges. The Blackhawks have been struggling through a poor season and a low expected goal share, but there is still some uncertainty around whether Connor Bedard will be available Tuesday, leaving Pittsburgh to prepare for more than one version of the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Just Added A Blue Line Piece Worth Watching
Pittsburgh continued its blue line shuffle by bringing in Ryan Johnson from Buffalo, a move that adds another young defenseman to the mix as the Penguins keep sorting out their depth on the back end. Johnson has spent parts of four professional seasons working between the NHL, the AHL and college hockey, and his background gives the Penguins a player with some mileage but still room to grow.
For a team that has been looking for useful pieces on defense, Johnson arrives with a manageable cap hit and some runway left on his contract. The question now is how quickly he can carve out a role in Pittsburgh after getting a longer look in Buffalo, where he logged 47 NHL games before this change of scenery. [Read more 🡒]