Penguins Activate Ben Kindel, Waive David Gustafsson

On top of getting Andrei Kuzmenko back from personal leave tonight against Montreal, the Penguins will welcome another important forward back as well.  The team announced (Twitter link) that center Ben Kindel has been activated off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, center David Gustafsson has been placed on waivers with a non-roster designation.

Kindel was injured in the preseason, sustaining a lower-body injury.  While he wound up on IR with a retroactive designation, he’ll ultimately only miss one game.

The 19-year-old was certainly a bright spot for Pittsburgh last season.  A somewhat surprising draft pick at 11th overall given where he was ranked by most scouting services, Kindel then surprised many more by not only making Pittsburgh’s lineup but working his way into an impactful regular role.

Last season, Kindel played in 77 games, tallying 17 goals and 18 assists, good for a top-10 finish in team scoring.  He also finished ninth overall in Calder Trophy voting for the NHL’s top rookie.  He was a regular for them in the playoffs as well, although he was held off the scoresheet in their six-game exit at the hands of Philadelphia.  He will likely slot back into a middle-six role in what will be a different-looking lineup from Wednesday’s opener.

As for Gustafsson, he loses his roster spot without even having a chance to play for his new team.  The 26-year-old was acquired from Winnipeg this offseason in exchange for blueliner Jack St. Ivany, a move designed to give each player a fresh start.  While he made the roster out of training camp, it was only a short-lived victory for him as it turns out.

Gustafsson has 149 career NHL games under his belt over parts of six seasons with the Jets.  Overall, he has six goals and 14 assists in those outings while logging under nine minutes per night of playing time in a fourth-line role.  Last season, Gustafsson played exclusively with AHL Manitoba, notching 10 goals and 22 assists in 49 appearances.

Gustafsson is playing on a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K at the NHL and a total guaranteed payout of half that amount.  He’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.  Teams will have until 1 PM CT to place a waiver claim on him if they so desire.  Otherwise, he’ll head to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and try to position himself to be an in-season recall to get back to the NHL level.