The Pittsburgh Penguins made several roster moves today, as the team has gotten bit by the injury bug.

To start, the team signed defenseman Dmitry Samorukov to a one year deal. His contract is worth $775K at the NHL level, and he will be looked to solidify the depth on defense for the Penguins as the team places defenseman Chad Ruhwedel on IR.

Samorukov is an interesting, albeit somewhat random pick up for the Penguins. You can read more about the 24 year old free agent signee here.

Samorukov will be joined by a returning John Ludvig, who is coming back to the Penguins from his conditioning stint in the AHL with the WBS Penguins.

Ludwig was concussed in his NHL debut after he got the worst of a big open ice collision. Despite the injury, his willingness to make a hit like that bodes well for the team, who could be adding some physicality on the blueline with his presence.

Also coming up from the AHL are forwards Jansen Haskins and Alex Nylander.

These recalls come as forward Rickard Rakell has been placed on IR, and Bryan Rust is being evaluated for a lower body injury as well.

Rakell has had a miserable start to the year, going scoreless in 17 games and having only 4 assists on the year. It’s unclear if a potential injury has been hindering his play, but hopefully while having some time off he can sort things out.

Bryan Rust is a major loss for the team, being on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. The Penguins will have to find some way to replace him and his solid production while he is out.

Jansen Harkins appeared in 4 games for the Penguins, starting the 2023-24 season in the NHL with Pittsburgh. He registered 0 points in those games, and was the odd man out when the team called up Radim Zohorna. Now, he’s for a second chance to impact the NHL lineup.

A waiver claim from the Winnipeg Jets right before the season started, Harkins has 4 goals and 5 assists in 11 AHL games. A reliable AHL scorer, Harkins will likely see a bottom six role with the Penguins in his return.

Alex Nylander is also back in town. He played in 9 games for the NHL Penguins last season, registering 1 goal and 1 assist. Despite his limited stats, he had a big impact on the roster during his short time here last season.

Unfortunately for him, he did not have the same lasting impression in front of a new management team this preseason, earning him an AHL spot to start the year. Nylander has 5 goals and 3 assist in 11 AHL games this season.

(Featured photo of Jansen Harkins by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)