The Penguins wasted little time replacing the roster spot they opened earlier today when Ryan Johnson was sent down to the AHL. But instead of bringing someone up from injured reserve, Pittsburgh turned to the minors and recalled defenseman Ilya Solovyov from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Solovyov, 25, has already taken a winding path to get here. He opened training camp with Calgary, was claimed off waivers by Colorado, and then later landed in Pittsburgh. Between those two NHL stops in 2025-26, he appeared in 30 games, finishing with one goal and seven assists while averaging 12:45 of ice time per night.
That performance was enough to earn him a one-year deal in May, but it didn’t lock down a place on the NHL roster. Solovyov cleared waivers unclaimed a week and a half ago before heading to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he has one assist in three games so far.
The recall also matters for his contract status. Solovyov needs to get into 32 NHL games this season in order to qualify as a restricted free agent next summer. If he falls short of that mark, he’ll become a Group Six unrestricted free agent instead.
For now, Pittsburgh’s roster is full at 23 players. Injured defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Ryan Graves are not expected to be available for Monday’s game in Utah, though both are considered close to returning. When they’re ready to come off IR, the Penguins will need room to activate them, which could make Solovyov’s stay with the big club a brief one.
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Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Andrei Kuzmenko, Samuel Girard and Erik Karlsson have all come up as possible pieces, with Karlsson standing out because of both his status and his contract situation. He is in the final year of his deal, and Pittsburgh has the salary retention flexibility to make a deal more workable if the season tilts further away from contention and he agrees to the kind of move that would have the most ripple effect on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospect Helped Drive A Win Fans Will Want To Notice
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Mikhail Ilyin was right in the middle of it, and the rookie forward gave the Penguins a performance worth noting. He finished with a goal and three assists, a big night for a player still trying to carve out his place while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton continues to sort through a game where the man advantage became a major storyline on both sides. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Trade Radar Just Raised One Big Penguins Deadline Question
The Penguins willingness to listen on veteran forwards has already turned this deadline season into a live question about how far the front office wants to go in reshaping the roster. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell have both been mentioned in trade chatter, with the idea being that moving established pieces could open more ice time for younger players while also bringing back draft capital and prospects.
Edmonton has now been folded into that discussion as a club looking for help on the wing, which only adds another layer to Pittsburghs decision-making. Rust stands out as the cleaner fit in that kind of market, while Erik Karlsson has also been floated as part of the broader picture, and the Oilers interest reinforces how many moving parts could still define the Penguins deadline rather than settling it. [Read more 🡒]