Several Penguins shut down for the season, Ponomarev highlights Baby Penguins callups

Yesterday the Penguins announced that several forwards will not return to the ice in the final three games of the 2024-25 season.

Mike Sullivan has been shuffling things around in the last week and a half with the additions of Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. One of the main reasons for their callup was perhaps the injuries to forwards the Penguins were shouldering at the end of March.

Now, the Penguins are even more handicapped with the announcement of five forwards being shut down.

The Veterans

With the Penguins eliminated from playoff contention, there isn't much reason to keep throwing the likes of Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto on the ice.

Truly, Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Blackhawks should be the last time we see the two of them in a Penguins uniform. It's standard operating procedure to give younger guys a chance at the end of the season at the expense of veteran minutes.

Noel Acciari brings physicality and constency to the lineup, but his value is limited to just that. Matt Nieto - The Invisible Man - isn't exactly doing much of anything when he's on the ice. Bringing back Acciari would be disappointing, yet understandable, but Nieto has no place in Pittsburgh.

Lizotte and Novak

Blake Lizotte has battled injuries at different times this season, and his shutdown is a bit surprising, although it makes sense that an injury-ridden player risking injury in the middle of a multi-year deal is unwise.

Being an energy guy, Lizotte can come off the ice given that energy isn't a necessity in the final three games. Keep him healthy for next year and let him get an early break on recovering.

As for Tommy Novak, who was acquired from the Nashville Predators in the Michael Bunting trade, has two years left on his contract with Pittsburgh and seems to be a piece Kyle Dubas was eager to bring in to help the Penguins get back into the competing window.

Novak played just two games with the Penguins before suffering a lower body injury against the Wild back in March. This injury has kept him off the ice, and while he's been skating for the last several days, it's another case of not wanting to risk further injury on a piece with team control.

McGroarty's Done for NHL Stint

Rutger McGroarty's injury came blocking shots against the Blackhawks, and seems to be a big more serious than Penguins fans hoped. We originally projected McGroarty's NHL stint to end before the Penguins regular season finished, but not like this.

The 21 year-old top prospect had a goal and two assists in five games since he was called up with Koivunen from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was playing an excellent game alongside the big guns in his stint, and his lower body injury could endanger his chance to compete with WBS the rest of the way.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL affiliate) are in the midst of a playoff run, and before his callup, Rutger McGroarty was smoking hot for the Baby Penguins. His shutdown makes a lot of sense, but it's no less unfortunate.

Speaking of the WBS Penguins, these shutdowns mean corresponding moves needed to be made to get bodies on the ice for the Pittsburgh club.

WBS Callups

Emil Bemstrom has been up and down this season, and we've seen the likes of Valtteri Puustinen for extended periods with the Penguins in the last two seasons, but it's Vasily Ponomarev that highlights these late-season callups.

Ponomarev was acquired as part of the Jake Guentzel trade and has been a top six centerman for the Baby Penguins this season. He came into the 2024-25 season as the 10th highest ranked Penguins prospect and has 15 goals and 25 assists (40 points) in 54 games this season.

The 22 year-old Russian is one of the prospects the Penguins are seriously leaning on to be an option to help the Pittsburgh team compete in the near future. His time in the NHL isn't enough to project his output, and three games at the end of the season likely won't do that either.

Regardless, Ponomarev is a prospect Penguins fans should be rooting for in these final games of the season.

The Baby Penguins have never won a Calder Cup in their history, and the Calder Cup Playoffs will begin in two weeks with these callups being able to return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to go back and play competitive hockey.

While the Pittsburgh Penguins' season might be coming to an end, the Baby Penguins should be on the docket to follow at the end of April and into May as they look to make history in the AHL.

Pittsburgh will match up against New Jersey later today.