Penguins place 5 on waivers, send 4 to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

The Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to move on from Ryan Graves.

More than two years after signing the left-handed defenseman to one of the largest — by length — contracts in franchise history, placed the 30-year-old Graves on waivers on Saturday.

Assuming none of the NHL’s 31 other teams make a claim on him or his $4.5 cap hit by 2 p.m. Sunday, he will be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). As such, only $1.15 million of his salary cap hit will come off the books for the NHL club per league rules.

The Penguins signed Graves to a six-year contract with a modified no-trade clause in hopes that he would replace franchise stalwart Brian Dumoulin as a stout defensive entity on the blue line.

Those aspirations have yet to be realized through two seasons of that pact. Graves largely failed to find a fit under previous coach Mike Sullivan.

After primarily being deployed on the top two defensive pairings in 2023-24, Graves was largely used on the third pairing during the 2024-25 campaign, at least when he wasn’t a healthy scratch (as was the case for 21 games).

This preseason, Graves appeared in four games and did not record a point on nine shots under new coach Dan Muse.

The team also placed forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Boko Imama and Sam Poulin, as well as defenseman Alex Alexeyev on waivers and will assign them to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton should they clear.

Harvey-Pinard, 26, signed a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000 in July. This preseason, the left-hander appeared in three contests and had no points on five shots.

Imama, 29, is entering his second season with the club after agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract extension with a salary cap hit of $775,000 in June.

A left-handed shot, Imama skated in three games this preseason and did not record a point but collected four penalty minutes.

Poulin was the Penguins’ first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2019 and cleared waivers prior to the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Primarily stationed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for most of last season, Poulin established career-highs at the AHL level in goals (19) and points (43) over 57 games.

This preseason, the left-handed Poulin skated in three games and did not record a point on two shots.

Alexeyev, 25, joined the team in July as an unrestricted free agent signing in July, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $775,000.

A first-round draft pick (No. 31 overall) of the Washington Capitals in 2018, the left-handed Alexeyev skated in three games this preseason and did not record a point on one shot.

Forward Robby Fabbri, 29, was released from a professional tryout contract.

A veteran of nine NHL seasons, the left-handed Fabbri played in four preseason games and posted three points (one goal, two assists) on six shots.

Additionally, four rookies — forwards Tristan Broz and Avery Hayes, along with defenseman Owen Pickering and Sergei Murashov, were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. That quartet does not require waivers for an assignment to a minor league affiliate.

Broz, 22, was a second-round draft pick (No. 58 overall) in 2021 and is entering the second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $925,000.

This preseason, the left-handed Broz played in four games and scored two goals on five shots.

The undrafted Hayes is entering the first year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $830,000.

A right-handed shot, Hayes, 22, skated in four preseason games and scored three points (one goal, two assists) on six shots.

The 21-year-old Pickering was the Penguins’ first-round draft pick (No. 21 overall) in 2022 and is entering the second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $886,667.

A left-handed shot, Pickering skated in three preseason games and did not record a point on one shot.

Murashov, 21, was a fourth-round draft pick (No. 118 overall) in 2022 and is entering the second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $861,110.

This preseason, the right-catching Murashov appeared in three contests and posted a 2-0-1 record, a 1.72 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.

Once the fate of the waived players is determined, the Penguins will have 23 active players on their roster, excluding eight injured players.

The NHL’s deadline to submit a season-opening roster within the league’s 23-man limit is 5 p.m. Monday.