Penguins A to Z: It wasn't meant to be for Matt Nieto

With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason for a third consecutive year without a playoff appearance, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 57 individuals signed to an NHL contract – including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.

Starting with Noel Acciari and going on through to Philip Tomasino (regrettably, there is no Z on the payroll), every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.

This series is scheduled to be published Mondays through Saturdays leading up until June 24, four days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)

Matt Nieto

Position: Left winger

Shoots: Left

Age: 32

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 189 pounds

2024-25 NHL statistics: 32 games, three points (one goal, two assists), 12:15 of average ice time per contest

2024-25 AHL statistics: 15 games, seven points (three goals, four assists)

Contract: In the second year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $900,000. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, July 1, 2023

This season: Matt Nieto started 2024-25 the same way he ended 2023-24.

Injured.

Surgeries to each knee between January (right) and May (left) of 2024 led to him opening this past season on long-term injured reserve as he missed the Penguins’ first 18 games.

Following a brief conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in mid-November — during which he generated one goal in two games — Nieto was activated from long-term injured reserve by Nov. 14.

Placed in a bottom-six role, Nieto was mostly inert over his first nine games before serving as a healthy scratch for three games in early December.

Back in the lineup on Dec. 12, Nieto experienced the high point of his season when he scored his only NHL goal of the campaign during a 9-2 road win against the Montreal Canadiens.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Matt Nieto with 05:40 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Matt Grzelcyk and Blake Lizotte.

Montreal: 2
Pittsburgh: 8#PITvsMTL #GoHabsGo #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/yGOuQQJ48J

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) December 13, 2024

Beyond that, it was tough to find much to celebrate with Nieto in 2024-25.

By Feb. 27, he cleared waivers and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Over the next month and a half, Nieto was shuffled between the NHL and AHL rosters in a variety of paper transactions.

While he was in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lineup for the final weeks of the regular season, Nieto gained some traction, at least from a productions standpoint, posting six points (two goals, four assists) in his last 13 games at the AHL level.

Nieto with the deflection! pic.twitter.com/3jjRIIsVjO

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) March 23, 2025

Nieto did get recalled to the NHL club for one game late in the season but suffered an injury on April 8. Somewhat fittingly, he missed the final three games of the campaign due to his ailment.

The future: It’s a safe bet to suggest Nieto’s unappetizing tenure with the Penguins will be coming to an end this upcoming offseason.

And given how rough the past two seasons have been for his health and his age, it’s fair to be curious if he’ll even get an NHL contract once the free agent signing period opens on July 1. And management’s decision to move him between the NHL and AHL rosters — limiting his playing time at the AHL level — didn’t help his case in pursuing a new contract.

If he’s healthy — admittedly a continent-sized if — Nieto can be an effective fourth-line winger who can chip in some offense. Don’t forget, he was coming off a 12-goal campaign in 2022-23 before joining the Penguins.

But those hopes just never materialized, primarily due to his failing health.

It just wasn’t meant to be for Nieto with the Penguins.