Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin activated from injured reserve; Jesse Puljujarvi assigned to AHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Tuesday that center Evgeni Malkin has been activated from the injured reserve. In a corresponding roster move, right winger Jesse Puljujarvi has been assigned to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Malkin has been out of the lineup for the past four games due to an upper-body injury. Per Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, Malkin is considered a game-time decision ahead of Tuesday’s contest against the Seattle Kraken. On the season, the 38-year-old Russian-born forward has made 41 appearances with the Penguins in which he has collected eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points. Skating in his 19th NHL season, the three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 67-point finish in 2023-24.
The second-overall selection from the 2004 NHL Draft, Malkin has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, counting 1,186 appearances in which he has registered 506 goals with 822 assists for 1,328 points to rank 34th on the NHL’s all-time scoring list.
For Puljujarvi, the 26-year-old forward will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after clearing waivers on December 31. Through 25 showings with the Penguins this season, Puljujarvi has notched three goals and six assists for nine points. Puljujarvi’s production comes on the heels of the 2023-24 campaign where he split time between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, notching four points in 22 games at the NHL level plus four goals and five assists in 13 games in the minors.
Per PuckPedia, Puljujarvi carries an $800,000 annual average value and can become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Entering Tuesday action against the Kraken, the Penguins sit 18-19-8 on the season and a pair of points back of the Metropolitan Division rival Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wildcard position in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have missed the postseason the past two springs and have not won a playoff series since toppling the rival Philadelphia Flyers in 2018.