Penguins activate Bryan Rust, assign Ville Koivunen to AHL

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a pair of roster moves heading into Saturday's matchup against the Rangers.  The team announced (X link) that they have activated winger Bryan Rust from injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, forward Ville Koivunen has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Rust had been dealing with a lower-body injury that held him out for most of the preseason as he only got into one exhibition contest.  Since he had missed plenty of time by then, Pittsburgh was able to easily move him to injured reserve to start the season and spare another roster cut for the time being.

Last season, the 33-year-old had a career year, notching 31 goals and 34 assists in 71 games, setting personal bests across the board while averaging just under 20 minutes a night of ice time.  Considering that he is making an affordable $5.25M through the 2027-28 campaign and that Pittsburgh is looking to rebuild its roster, that resulted in him being involved in a lot of trade speculation, although no move came to fruition.

Rust will likely rejoin Pittsburgh’s top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, a trio that had lots of success last season.  Koivunen had been in that spot as a placeholder to start the year, but was held off the scoresheet in his two outings.  Given that he is waiver-exempt, he was a safe choice to send down for the time being.

Last season, Koivunen made quite the first impression down the stretch.  He was brought up at the end of March and got into eight games with Pittsburgh.  While he didn’t score, he picked up seven assists in those outings while playing over 18 minutes a night, making a strong push for a longer-term stint on the roster.  That won’t be happening for the time being, but it stands to reason that he’ll be one of their top recall candidates whenever injuries arise or a roster spot is opened up, such as a trade or if Benjamin Kindel is returned to junior if the team opts not to burn the first year of his entry-level contract.  That decision will come once he reaches the nine-game mark, which could come within the next few weeks.