Yesterday, there were some noteworthy items shared by the Penguins. We have two injuries, a signing, and a non-signing. First, here are the injuries:

Evgeni Malkin underwent successful left elbow surgery.

The surgery was performed at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital by team physician, Dr. Dharmesh Vyas, and Dr. John Fowler of UPMC Shoulder and Elbow Orthopedic Surgery.

The expected recovery time for Malkin is 3-4 weeks. pic.twitter.com/TvPRvfCRdC

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 17, 2020

That’s a big one. While Malkin’s recovery time looks good on the surface at 3-4 weeks it is a larger and long running problem. If you can remember back to the 2016 playoffs Jeff Zatkoff started the first game and the team was playing without Evgeni Malkin who had hurt his arm against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The injury occurred on March 11th and Malkin wouldn’t return until April 16th in Game 2.



He went on to put up 18 points in 23 games. In hindsight he did so overcoming quite an injury.

Evgeni Malkin’s elbow injury predates his recent surgery. The full story puts his past four seasons into a different perspective.#Pens | ⁦@TheAthleticPGH⁩ https://t.co/DCBQaVm5X8

— Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) August 17, 2020

Rob leads the article with the following:

Evgeni Malkin’s life was forever changed during the spring and summer of 2016.
He became a husband, a father and, for the second time, a Stanley Cup champion. Also, he learned an elbow injury would eventually require major surgery.
Still does.

But that surgery — similar to Tommy John surgery — is not the one Malkin recently underwent at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.

He has a serious elbow ailment and now all the lack of one-timers makes sense. He isn’t right. He’s been playing hurt (and effective) for four years.

That summer, Malkin met with several specialists regarding how to proceed. The consensus: Malkin’s left elbow was damaged similar to — though not as severely as — a baseball pitcher, requiring complete reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament. However, since the regular movements of a hockey forward and baseball pitcher are different, Malkin was told he could delay the major surgery until after his playing career to avoid a lengthy recovery.

Instead, Malkin was to rehab the elbow and follow a strength-training regimen for the muscles and ligaments around it. He has adhered to that plan for the past four seasons, showing few signs of the injury posing a problem.

I never had an elbow injury, but I have had shoulder issues with similar parallels. I failed the empty can test which meant I had compromised strength and mobility of the shoulder. I missed a little bit of time, but I could still return to play hockey in-season and still perform to my own personal ceiling. High school baseball was a different story. I couldn’t throw. I could still swing a bat so I was exclusively a DH that season. I had an option to take care of the shoulder thing, but chose the same path Malkin is on. Rehab and strengthening so you can get back functionality, but you’ll know something is off. You don’t want to miss time so you keep pushing it. Twenty years later and I still feel the sting once and a while. Malkin’s elbow injury is way more severe than my shoulder thing so you are talking about the potential of missing an entire season. He’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. It really sucks one play can linger on to the extent that hit against the Blue Jackets has. I totally understand his mindset of trying to push the big fix further and further into the future.

Zach Aston-Reese on the other hand is going for the full fix option. He is going to miss six months.

Zach Aston-Reese underwent successful left shoulder surgery.

The surgery was performed at UPMC Montefiore Hospital by team physician, Dr. Dharmesh Vyas.

Aston-Reese is expected to be sidelined for six months. pic.twitter.com/bJ4wEM4dM2

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) August 17, 2020

If the season starts in December he will not be ready until February. It is a good chunk of time. I feel bad for Zach Aston-Reese, the person, but I do think the Penguins can navigate this injury situation with ease.

Luke Stevens has been signed by the Penguins. The last name is familiar and it is because he is the son of Kevin Stevens.

Hearing Yale and Nobles alum Luke Stevens will sign NHL entry level deal with Penguins. The Carolina pick became a free agent August 15th.

— Jeff Cox (@JeffCoxSports) August 17, 2020

There isn’t much to see here. Last year was his senior season at Yale at the age of 23. He had 12 points in 31 games. He had seven points in 23 games his junior year. He had 11 points in 30 games his sophomore year and five points in 17 games his freshman year. He is a left winger so this is more damning than if he was a defenseman. If you can’t score in the ECAC at a higher rate than he did the probability of him being an impact player at higher levels isn’t very high. Bookmark this take for when Austin Lemieux gets a WB/S or Wheeling contract.

The Penguins tried to sign Nikita Pavlychev to a minor league deal, but he rebuffed them, instead signing with Syracuse.

We have signed forward Nikita Pavlychev to a one-year AHL contract.https://t.co/BHHoAu5V8H

— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) August 18, 2020

Pavlychev had somewhat of a cult following because he was a 6’7” forward, played at Penn State, was drafted by the Penguins. Combine the three and it drove some interest in the player. Much like Luke Stevens this isn’t a big deal. Despite his enormous size advantage Pavlychev only had 14 points in 27 games his senior year. He is also 23 years old. The probability is low he will make a significant impact at higher levels. His junior year gave a little bit of promise with 14 goals and 29 points in 39 games. The hope was to build off that season. It went the other way.

Thanks for reading!

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