The Pittsburgh Penguins made a busy roster move this morning, placing Bryan Rust on injured reserve and recalling Rutger McGroarty and Chase Pietila from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Rust’s absence is not expected to be brief. Team beat writer Josh Yohe reported that he will be evaluated in six weeks.
The forward is dealing with a lower-body injury after leaving Monday’s loss to Utah before the third period and not returning. He had already missed a few games this season, and despite that, he still sits sixth on the team in scoring with three goals and five points in seven games.
Rust has spent much of that time in a top-line role next to Sidney Crosby. He also previously dealt with an upper-body injury in the preseason, and the team says that issue is unrelated to the latest setback.
His move to injured reserve comes at a rough time for a Penguins team already in trouble. Pittsburgh has dropped four straight and sits 27th in the league with a 3-6-1 record.
Benjamin Kindel is also out after collapsing during the team’s flight and being hospitalized, leaving the Penguins without two forwards they expected to lean on. The club’s bigger-picture goals have been clear all along: keep the Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang group in playoff contention as long as possible.
Rust has long been part of that picture too, with 717 games played in Pittsburgh after being drafted by the organization 16 years ago.
Now the Penguins have to improvise. Against Florida at home tonight, Thomas Novak is set to move into a top-line wing spot.
Pittsburgh’s offense has been productive enough to rank 10th, but that hasn’t translated into wins, and the forward depth Kyle Dubas assembled will be tested immediately. Ville Koivunen is another player who could be pushed into a bigger role, though his offense hasn’t taken off early in his shocking eight-year extension.
McGroarty arrives with a chance to make a stronger impression at the NHL level. The 22-year-old winger led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with Avery Hayes with nine points in six games and should get a real look in the top nine, even if he is not expected to play tonight.
He has shown useful five-on-five possession numbers in sheltered minutes, but the offense has not yet matched the promise that made him the 14th overall pick in the 2022 draft. In 32 NHL games, he has nine points.
Pietila, also 22, is still waiting on his NHL debut. Pittsburgh selected the 6-foot-2 bruiser in the fourth round two years ago, and he brought 85 penalty minutes to the Baby Penguins last season after winning a USHL title.
The Howell, Michigan native also appeared in nine games for ECHL Wheeling last season. For now, he gives the Penguins another depth option, with Ilya Solovyov expected to handle the third pairing and recent acquisition Spencer Stastney projected to skate alongside Erik Karlsson.
In Other News...
Penguins Fans Now Wait On The Ben Kindel Recovery Timeline
The Penguins had to deal with an unsettling medical scare involving Ben Kindel after he collapsed on the team plane, an episode that immediately shifted attention away from the ice and toward his health. The club later confirmed the cause of the incident, easing some of the immediate uncertainty while still leaving the wider picture focused on his recovery and what comes next.
Kindel has been placed on injured reserve as he continues treatment and further testing, a reminder that these situations rarely come with quick answers. For Pittsburgh, the priority now is simply getting him the care and evaluation he needs, with the more important timeline still tied to how he responds in the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Just Took A Brutal Short-Term Hit Up Front
Bryan Rusts latest injury leaves the Penguins with a short-term hole they cant easily paper over. Head coach Dan Muse said the veteran forward is expected to miss at least six weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in a recent game, a hit to a lineup that has leaned on Rusts reliability and two-way presence for years.
Pittsburgh already had to reshape its roster after placing Ben Kindel on injured reserve as well, with Rutger McGroarty and Chase Pietila coming up to fill the vacancies. Kindels situation appears less severe, but the immediate pressure is on the Penguins to absorb Rusts absence without losing too much ground while they wait for more clarity on how the roster settles. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Already Have A Lineup Problem They Didn't Solve This Summer
Declan Carlile has given the Penguins one of those early-season roster questions that can linger if it is not handled quickly. He did manage to score a goal in recent games, but the larger issue has been his play in his own end, where the defensive breakdowns have outweighed the offensive flash and left Pittsburgh with a lineup spot that suddenly looks a lot less secure.
The problem for the Penguins is that they do not appear to have an obvious in-house fix sitting right behind him. The organization does have AHL names in the conversation, including Owen Pickering, but this is the kind of depth decision that can force a real rethink about how long Carlile stays in the mix if the recent form continues. [Read more 🡒]