The news was as sudden as it was jarring.

When the Pittsburgh Penguins announced Filip Hallander would be sidelined a minimum of three months due to a blood clot in a leg, it caught several of his teammates off guard.

In fact, several members of the club did not find out about the diagnosis until seeing a social media posting by the team Friday morning that revealed the nature of the predicament facing the promising rookie forward.

But one sentiment was seemingly universal.

Support.

“That’s not an easy thing to have to deal with,” forward Sidney Crosby said, while seated next to Hallander’s vacant dressing room stall in Cranberry. “His health is most important. We’re all happy that they found what they did early. He’s got some great people looking out for him, and he’s got a great attitude.

“So, hopefully he can figure everything out and get back out there.”

Coach Dan Muse indicated Hallander’s ordeal isn’t life-threatening, but it’s far from being a benign issue as well.

“This goes way beyond hockey,” Muse said. “This is about the person.

“It’s just about making sure (about) the health of the person, number one. Then getting him back to being an athlete.”

If the time frame for recovery remains true at three months, Hallander would not be able to resume playing until early February, right when the NHL would be going into stasis for the leaguewide break during the Olympics. Hallander could potentially play some games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment, then rejoin the NHL club when it resumes play on Feb. 26.

No malady — particularly something as dire as a blood clot — is convenient. But the timing of this is rotten for Hallander as the Penguins will be trekking to his home country of Sweden next week for a pair of games against the Nashville Predators in Stockholm.

“(Stinks) a lot,” said Penguins forward Bryan Rust, who skated on the top line with Hallander for a handful of games. “He’s a guy who’s worked extremely hard. Great player, a great guy.

“I feel especially for him because I don’t know if he can fly going to Sweden. It’s obviously a huge bummer.”

Hallander’s absence comes as the Penguins are navigating a spate of injuries, especially to their forward ranks.

Noel Acciari (undisclosed), Justin Brazeau (undisclosed), Kevin Hayes (suspected left shoulder), Rickard Rakell (left hand) and Rutger McGroarty (undisclosed) are all waylaid by various ailments, and the Penguins have been deploying a threadbare group of lines in recent games.

AP The Penguins acquired forward Kevin Hayes in a trade with the St. Louis Blues in June of 2024.  

They will likely get one reinforcement, however, in the form of Hayes, who has been sidelined since the first day of training camp when he was slammed into the boards during a puck battle with defenseman Ryan Graves.

During practice Friday, Hayes operated as the center of what appeared to be a fourth line with Joona Koppanen on the left wing and rookie Ville Koivunen at right wing (along with reserve Philip Tomasino). Additionally, Hayes worked the right wall of the second power-play unit.

While Muse declined to indicate if Hayes would be available for Saturday’s road game against the New Jersey Devils, Hayes was a bit more revealing about his status.

“I think I’m playing center (Saturday),” said Hayes, currently designated to injured reserve. “If that’s where they want me to play, that’s where I’m going to play. … Obviously, not the way I wanted the start of (this) season to go with this injury. But I think it’s more excitement than negativity of missing games.”

Hayes, a 33-year-old veteran, is entering his second season with the Penguins after arriving via a trade with the St. Louis Blues during the 2024 offseason.

His first campaign with the club was a mixed bag. He appeared in 64 games last season and posted a respectable 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists). But several healthy scratches or injury-related absences were mixed in there as well.

“Good stretches, bad stretches, healthy scratches,” Hayes surmised. “I thought I played good for periods of time. Played wing to start the year. Finished the year at center. Lots of ups and downs.”

Hayes just wants to fit in somewhere. And the Penguins have lots of places to fit him in, given all their injuries.

“He’s a guy that can add a lot in a lot of different places in the lineup,” Muse said. “Obviously, on special teams, you saw him in practice today there, just working on the power play. That’s something that, his entire career, has been an area that he’s been really good at. He’s killed penalties in the past. Center is natural for him but he can also play the wing. There’s a lot there.

“I’m just happy for him that that progression has continued to move along.”

Hayes’ teammates seem jubilant over his potential return as well.

“He’s huge for the locker room,” said defenseman Ryan Shea, who referred to Hayes as the team’s biggest jokester. “And we know what he can do on the ice. He’s a huge part of our team, and he will be when he gets back.”

Hayes and company are ready for the day Hallander can come back, as well.

“You can look at it two different ways, negative and positive,” Hayes said. “Positive, because (doctors) found it. A lot of negative can happen if you let that stuff linger around.

“You never want to miss a long period of time with it being his rookie year. But it’s a blessing that they found it. Fil was playing really good. It (stinks) that he’s going to miss games.”

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