If the mood surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins felt a little heavy following this past weekend’s results, Monday morning provided the inevitable reaction. Management has never been one to sit idle when the on-ice product stagnates, and on Nov. 24, we saw the first significant personnel recalibration of the winter.
The team executed a flurry of roster moves on Monday, a decision reportedly necessitated by a need for a “little shake-up” after a disappointing run of games.
While the transaction wire might look like standard housekeeping to the casual observer, a deeper dive reveals a specific strategy: the Penguins are simultaneously addressing an immediate need for depth scoring while engaging in some savvy asset management regarding their blue line prospects. The highway between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be a little busier this week.
Here is a breakdown of the four moves made on Monday and what they signal for the lineup ahead of Wednesday’s clash with the Buffalo Sabres.
Tristan Broz Gets the Call
The headline move, and the one that will generate the most conversation among the fanbase, is the recall of forward Tristan Broz from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins.
This isn’t a panic recall; it is a reward. The 23-year-old, selected in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, has been knocking on the door since a very strong training camp where he narrowly missed the final cut. His performance in the American Hockey League (AHL) has forced the issue.
In 18 games with WBS this season, Broz has posted eight goals and 13 points. Perhaps more telling is his sustained production; since the start of last season, he has tallied 27 goals—more than any other player on the WBS roster in that timeframe.
By recalling Broz, the organization has effectively drained its affiliate’s top-tier offensive reservoir. With this move, the top four scorers for the AHL Penguins are now all rostered in the NHL. It is a clear signal that the big club needs depth scoring now, and they are willing to lean on their youth to find it.
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The tactical question for the coaching staff will be deployment. Broz has primarily operated as a center during his professional tenure. With the middle of the ice occupied by established veterans like Evgeni Malkin and emerging talents like Ben Kindel, Broz’s path to minutes may be on the wing. Whether the staff elects to shift a natural center to the flank or trial Broz as a winger for his initial NHL action remains to be seen, but expect him to be in the lineup against Buffalo.
Tomasino Returns to WBS
Corresponding with the Broz recall is the reassignment of Philip Tomasino to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. For those tracking the transaction wire, this seemed inevitable.
Tomasino, a 2019 first-round pick of the Nashville Predators, cleared waivers five days ago yet remained on the NHL roster as a healthy scratch until this move was finalized. His stint in Pittsburgh this season has been difficult to characterize as anything other than a struggle. In nine games, he registered just a single assist while averaging 12:10 of ice time.
For a player with Tomasino’s pedigree, averaging twelve minutes a night in a bottom-six role is rarely a recipe for offensive confidence. Sending him to the AHL is the logical play. Assuming he reports, he is guaranteed to play in his first AHL contest since the 2023-24 season. This isn’t necessarily closing the book on Tomasino, but it is an admission that he needs to rediscover his touch in a lower-stakes environment where he can command top-line minutes and power-play time.
Brunicke’s Conditioning Loan
The most intriguing move from a management perspective involves defenseman Harrison Brunicke. The Penguins’ second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has been assigned to WBS on a conditioning loan.
It is crucial to understand the mechanics here: a conditioning loan allows Brunicke to head to the AHL for up to 14 days while still counting against the Penguins’ 23-player NHL roster limit.
Brunicke has been in a difficult spot. The South African-born blueliner has been on the NHL roster for the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign but has been a healthy scratch since Nov. 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his limited sample size—nine games—he has averaged 15:43 of ice time with a minus-4 rating and one goal.
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The “conditioning” designation is technically accurate, as he hasn’t played in weeks, but the subtext here screams World Juniors. There is a prevailing belief that this move is designed to ramp up Brunicke’s game readiness, specifically to loan him to Team Canada for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in the Twin Cities next month.
Keeping a teenage defenseman in the press box does nothing for his development. Giving him two weeks of heavy minutes in the AHL to prepare for a premier international tournament is a prime example of smart, long-term player development.
St. Ivany Activates
Finally, the Penguins assigned defenseman Jack St. Ivany to WBS for conditioning. Unlike the Brunicke situation, this is a traditional rehab assignment.
The 26-year-old sustained a lower-body injury during the preseason and has been sidelined for seven weeks, starting the season on injured reserve (IR). While he technically remains on IR during this conditioning window, the move confirms he is medically cleared for contact and game action.
St. Ivany is a known quantity. Last season, he split time between the NHL (19 games) and AHL (37 games), proving to be a serviceable depth option. With the defensive corps constantly battling attrition, getting St. Ivany back to game speed in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is a necessary step to shore up the organizational depth chart before the grind of December sets in.
The Verdict
These moves, while numerous, are not a restructuring of the team’s core identity. They are calculated maintenance. The Penguins are cutting their losses on an underperforming forward (Tomasino), injecting a prospect into a stagnant offense (Broz), and expertly managing the timelines of their defensive assets (Brunicke and St. Ivany).
The immediate focus now shifts to Wednesday night against the Sabres. All eyes will be on Broz to see if his AHL scoring touch can translate to the NHL level and provide the spark the Penguins desperately need.
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