Pittsburgh Penguins Make Surprising Roster Cuts

Ryan Graves, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman

It was a big decision day at Pittsburgh Penguins camp, as a number of roster cuts were made, including a few surprising names.

The following players have been assigned to @WBSPenguins (AHL) training camp:
- Tristan Broz
- Avery Hayes
- Sergei Murashov
- Owen Pickering
Alexander Alexeyev, Ryan Graves, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Boko Imama and Sam Poulin will be placed on waivers at 2:00 PM and will be assigned…
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 4, 2025

Youngster Tristan Broz had a very good camp, and a nice season in the minors last year, but has been assigned back to the Penguins’ American Hockey League club in Wilkes-Barre to start the season.

But the biggest name of the group to get cut today is 6'5" defenseman Ryan Graves. He will head to waivers, but with four years remaining on his bloated contract with a $4.5 million cap hit, chances are slim and none that he gets claimed.

Graves had a dreadful 2024-25 campaign with the Pens, as his increased turnovers and poor defensive play relegated him to third-pairing status, and a massive reduction in ice time to just 14:59 per game. He had averaged closer to 19 minutes a night through the first six years of his career.

He'll now start the year in the AHL, where the 30-year-old hasn't played in seven years.

It's a long fall from grace for Graves, a former lock-down top-four defender who once led the NHL in plus/minus, at +40, back in 2019-20 with the Colorado Avalanche. He's been a huge disappointment in his two years in Pittsburgh.

With the moves, 2025 first-round pick, 18-year-old Ben Kindel, will get to stick with the big club for now, along with 19-year-old Harrison Brunicke, a second-round pick in 2024. Both can play up to nine NHL games without consuming the first year of their entry-level contracts. After that, it's either a trip back down to junior hockey, or let it ride on the Penguins roster.

The assignment of goaltender Sergei Murashov to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton leaves Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs as the tandem between the pipes to start the season.