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Rafaël Harvey-Pinard: It will be (very) difficult for him to play in the NHL in Pittsburgh

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 5:06 PM ET

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard has left the Montreal Canadiens, the organization that drafted him in 2019. He has signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and will be looking to get back into the NHL. But that’s going to be a tough assignment. I say that because the Penguins – while not a red-hot club – still have a number of NHL guys in their lineup.

If RHP were to carve out a roster spot for himself in Pittsburgh, it would be on the bottom-6… and right now, there are guys already in place who deserve their spot in the lineup. As reported by NHL Info, the Québécois is not currently among the regulars in the club’s projected lineup on DailyFaceoff…

[content-ads] There’s something to remember, too. Last season… Rafaël Harvey-Pinard played just one game with the Canadiens. He spent the majority of his campaign in Laval (he had to deal with injuries) and it’s not as if he broke it down in the AHL either. The forward scored five goals (19 points) in 40 games, which isn’t his usual pattern when you look at his stats since his AHL debut….

But then again, his 14 goals in 34 NHL games during the 22-23 season might help him. Maybe the Pittsburgh brass saw something in him to offer him a new contract…. but that doesn’t change the fact that at Penguins camp, Harvey-Pinard will have to work extremely hard to beat the guys in front of him. He’ll be 27 next January… and this may be his last chance to make it to the National League as a regular player.

[spacer title=’Overtime’] – Tit-Cole!

Cole Caufield training with Zach Werenski during the off-season pic.twitter.com/9tmJStdcpb

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 25, 2025

– What do we think?

What are some unwritten style rules you follow? pic.twitter.com/39kCPey32N

– BarDown (@BarDown) July 25, 2025

– I like it.

No, he didn’t manage to block the kicker’s placements. https://t.co/QuHTGNDQaC–

TVA Sports (@TVASports) July 25, 2025

– Wow.

Most points from an OHL defenseman since Covid:

103 – Zayne Parekh (Calgary prospect) 96 – Zayne Parekh (Calgary prospect) 92 – Hunter Brzutewicz (Calgary prospect) 91 – Sam Dickinson 88 – Pavel Mintyukov 82 – Henry Mews (Calgary Prospect) What the hell are they building? pic.twitter.com/SD5GCo85WJ– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) July 25, 2025

– It’s shuffling.