Defenseman Jan Rutta had a vivid way of describing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ medical woes throughout the 2022-23 season.
“The injuries have been (expletive) this year,” Rutta bluntly assessed April 10 while using a term some might root in fertilizer.
Only 10 days later, the team revealed Rutta underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury. The date of the surgery was not revealed other than having been performed “this week.”
Recovery is expected to take eight to 10 weeks.
The Penguins’ most prominent unrestricted free agent signing in the 2022 offseason, Rutta, 32, appeared in 56 games this past season and scored nine points (three goals, six assists) while averaging 17:07 of ice time per contest, including 2:33 on the penalty kill.
The right-handed Rutta was a mainstay in the Penguins’ lineup — primarily on the third defensive pairing — for the first 42 games of the season — and even scored eight of his nine points during that stretch — before an undisclosed injury sidelined him for 15 contests starting Jan. 16.
After recovering, Rutta played in 11 games between Feb. 25 and March 16 before a suspected left knee injury hobbled him for 10 games between March 18 and April 4.
Rutta played in three more games before being scratched for his team’s regular season finale April 13.
In the first year of a three-year contract, Rutta carries a salary cap hit of $2.75 million.
