Penguins’ Filip Hallander diagnosed with blood clot

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Filip Hallander has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg, the team announced. He’ll be sidelined for a minimum of three months. He will undergo rehabilitation in Pittsburgh, in conjunction with the team’s medical staff and doctors from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Hallander has only been out of action for two days. He played against the Maple Leafs on Monday and practiced on Wednesday, but left the session early, according to Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Head coach Dan Muse then said, before Thursday’s win over the Capitals, that he was day-to-day with an undisclosed issue, presumably a cover while he was undergoing diagnostic testing.

Even in the best-case scenario, Hallander will be out of action until after the Olympic break. After serving as a healthy scratch in the season opener, Hallander had made 13 consecutive appearances until being diagnosed with the clot. He had scored one goal with three assists for four points with a +4 rating while averaging 13:09 of ice time per game. A second-round pick back in 2018, Hallander was kicking off his second stint with the Pens after spending the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with Timrå IK in his native Sweden. He previously split the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns between Pittsburgh and AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, racking up his first three career NHL appearances during that time.

Now 25, Hallander’s NHL return was spurred by a dominant showing for Timrå last season. His 26 goals and 53 points in 51 games led the club and earned him Swedish Hockey League Forward of the Year honors. Hallander signed a five-year deal with Timrå upon his return to Sweden in 2023, but subsequently terminated that contract to facilitate a return to Pittsburgh. He signed a two-year, one-way deal worth $1.55M in April and made the opening night roster for the first time in the fall.

Hallander had been shuffled up and down the lineup to begin the season. He spent a good chunk of his ice time at 5-on-5 up on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, but also saw significant third-line deployment alongside Thomas Novak and some fourth-line duties as well. A bit of a Swiss Army knife who can play both center and left wing, they’ll miss his versatility — especially at a time when they’re already missing lineup regulars Noel Acciari, Justin Brazeau, Kevin Hayes, and Rickard Rakell in addition to top prospect Rutger McGroarty.