Veteran Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel was placed on injured reserve Thursday, with the team expecting he will miss “up to four weeks” with an upper-body injury.
Guentzel left Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers toward the end of the game, with coach Mike Sullivan saying he was being evaluated for an upper-body injury. Guentzel had an assist earlier in the game, his fifth point in six games.
The Penguins said in a release that Guentzel is expected to return in early March. The NHL trade deadline is March 8, and Guentzel may have been on the block for the Penguins, who are seventh in the eight-team Metropolitan Division.
Guentzel has spent his entire eight-year NHL career with the Penguins. He has 466 points (219 goals, 247 assists) in 503 games, including 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 50 games this season.
Pittsburgh recalled forwards Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza and Valtteri Puustinen from AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in response to Guentzel’s IR move.
Of the trio, the only player with extensive NHL experience is Hinostroza, 29. In 374 games over nine years for five NHL teams, Hinostroza has 151 career points (54 goals, 97 assists). He played in 14 games for Pittsburgh earlier this season, scoring one goal and adding two assists.
–Field Level Media