Pittsburgh Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL or NHLPA
Pittsburgh Penguins call up a forward and place a defenseman on injured reserve as roster pressure spikes
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Rutger McGroarty is back with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Jack St. Ivany is headed to IR, which is a bitter-sweet moment.
Pittsburgh recalled McGroarty from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday.
They also placed St. Ivany on Injured Reserve.
The St. Ivany news is the real sting.
He had left hand surgery and the expected recovery is up to eight weeks.
St. Ivany was quietly stabilizing the bottom pair.
He had 0-7-7 in 17 games, with a lot of hard minutes and clean exits.
Now that workload has to go somewhere, fast, with Chicago in the building Thursday.
Rutger McGroarty gives the Pittsburgh Penguins options
Honestly, Penguins fans are going to feel two things at once, relief for the recall, and dread about the next defender up.
McGroarty is 21, drafted in 2022, Round 1, by the Winnipeg Jets, and he plays with that edge this roster sometimes lacks.
In the AHL this season, he has 4-8-12 in 9 games, so the touch is there.
If the plan is a bottom-six look, he can still drive net-front and make plays off the wall.
If it is top-six injury insurance, the timing makes sense before the schedule tightens.
The Penguins are 26-14-11, so this is about protecting points, not experimenting.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Forget the trade deadline: The Pittsburgh Penguins may already have the steal of the year
Forget the trade deadline: The Pittsburgh Penguins may already have the steal of the year
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 29|120 ANSWERS Pittsburgh Penguins call up a forward and place a defenseman on injured reserve as roster pressure spikes Should Rutger McGroarty stay with the Pittsburgh Penguins after this recall? | ||
| Yes | 87 | 72.5 % |
| No | 33 | 27.5 % |
| List of polls | ||