Penguins' Ryan Graves: Facing pressure for lineup spot
Rotowire
Graves played for just the second time in 10 games when he suited up in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
The Penguins have given Owen Pickering an extended look, and while Jack St. Ivany isn't in the NHL mix currently, Graves has often found himself out of the lineup lately. The 29-year-old Graves is stuck in the starting blocks on offense with zero points and 18 shots on net through 21 outings, and he's added 27 hits, 29 blocked shots and a minus-8 rating. While he was once a reliable 25-point option on the blue line, his poor defensive play and nonexistent offense has made him a non-factor in fantasy in 2024-25.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: No scoring yet
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Graves has failed to record a point in the Penguins' first 13 games of the season.
Graves used to be good for 25 points a year, but he's struggled on offense since arriving in Pittsburgh. His defense hasn't been all that good in 2024-25 either, but that could be said about most of the Penguins' blueliners. Graves has accumulated 10 shots on net, 16 hits, 18 blocked shots, seven PIM and a minus-3 rating while seeing third-pairing minutes to begin this season, so he's not an option in most fantasy formats.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Deemed fit ahead of camp
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Graves (concussion) was listed as healthy on the Penguins' training camp roster Tuesday.
Graves faced the ire of Penguins fans last season after he managed just 14 points in 70 contests despite his $4.5 million cap hit and a contract that runs through the 2028-29 campaign. If he continues to struggle this year, he could find himself relegated to the press box in favor of Sebastian Aho, Ryan Shea or Owen Pickering.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Fails to return to action
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Graves (concussion) wasn't medically cleared before the end of the 2023-24 season.
Graves spent the last 10 games of the year on injured reserve as a result of his concussion. In part due to his limited appearances, the 28-year-old defender failed to reach the 20-point threshold for just the second time in his five-year NHL career. It was a tough season for Graves, who has yet to live up to the six-year, $27 million deal he signed with the Pens in July of 2023.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Designated for injured reserve
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Graves (concussion) was placed on injured reserve Thursday, Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports reports.
Although the team has yet to specify, Graves is likely on long-term injured reserve considering the 23-man roster limit is no longer in effect and the Penguins will need additional cap space to activate either Jansen Harkins (hand) or Noel Acciari (lower body) before the postseason. Assuming that's the case, Graves won't be eligible to be activated until the playoffs if Pittsburgh is able to secure a postseason spot.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Remains unavailable
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Graves (concussion) will not be in the lineup to face Detroit on Thursday, Dan Kingerski of PittsburghHockeyNow.com reports.
Graves will be shelved for his seventh straight game due to his concussion suffered against Columbus on March 28. Still, the blueliner has started skating and could be an option at some point before the end of the regular season. However, the play of Ryan Shea and Jack St. Ivany could relegate Graves to a spot in the press box even once given the all-clear.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Suffers concussion Thursday
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Graves was diagnosed with a concussion Friday, according to Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site.
Graves was injured late in the first period Thursday versus Columbus and did not return. The 28-year-old blueliner has three goals, 11 assists, 72 hits and 142 blocked shots in 70 appearances this season. John Ludvig will likely replace Graves in the lineup Saturday, as the Penguins get a return match against Columbus. Graves should miss at least a week with the concussion, and it's possible that his season could be over.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Suffers upper-body injury
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Graves is being evaluated for an upper-body injury after leaving Thursday's game versus the Blue Jackets following the first period.
Graves logged just 5:27 of ice time in the contest. If he is unable to play Saturday in a rematch in Columbus, John Ludvig will likely enter the lineup.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: At practice Tuesday
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Graves (personal) returned to practice ahead of Tuesday's matchup with Carolina, freelance Penguins' reporter Shelly Anderson reports.
Graves missed Pittsburgh's two-game road trip following the birth of his child but is back on the ice ahead of Tuesday's tilt. Graves figures to reclaim his spot on the third pairing alongside John Ludvig, which will likely see Jack St. Ivany relegated to the press box or possibly returned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Considering Graves' minimal offensive impact this season, 14 points in 68 games, few fantasy players will have anxiously awaited his return.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Not with team
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Graves is back in Pittsburgh awaiting the birth of his child and will miss out against Dallas on Friday, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports.
Depending on timing, it's possible Graves will link up with the team to face Colorado on Sunday, but for now, he should probably be considered questionable at best. Considering the defenseman has just one point in his last eight outings, few fantasy players figure to be impacted by his absence. In his stead, Jack St. Ivany will make his NHL debut versus the Stars.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Two helpers against Columbus
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Graves picked up two assists in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Blue Jackets.
Both helpers came in the first period, giving the 28-year-old blueliner his first multi-point performance since Nov. 11. Graves hasn't scored a goal in 17 straight games, and his fantasy value comes from other categories -- on the season he has three goals and 13 points in 60 contests, but that offense comes with 61 hits, 119 blocked shots and a plus-12 rating.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Picks up helper
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Graves logged an assist and blocked three shots in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Flames.
Graves has earned three assists over 12 games since the All-Star break. The 28-year-old defenseman's third-pairing role -- one he ended up in after displaying uncharacteristically weak defense early in the season -- has done nothing to help his offense. Graves has 11 points, 68 shots on net, 111 blocked shots, 59 hits and a plus-11 rating over 58 appearances, but it doesn't look like he has an obvious path back to a top-four role.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Bends twine against Bruins
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Graves scored a goal on one shot in Thursday's 6-5 victory over the Bruins.
Graves' 19-game goal drought came to a close with his tally Thursday. It was just the second goal of the year for the defenseman, who is well off a 20-point pace after having reached that mark in each of the previous two campaigns. The Nova Scotia native has also underwhelmed defensively, which has led to him dropping to the third pairing.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Scores early game-winner
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Graves tallied a goal, a hit and three blocked shots in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Golden Knights.
Graves opened the scoring early Sunday, firing a loose puck past Adin Hill 2:13 into the first period for his first goal of the season. The tally would stand as the game-winner. The 28-year-old Graves is averaging a career-high 21:31 of ice time on the Penguins' top pairing this season, though he's not likely to offer consistent production offensively. He has just three points (a goal and two assists) in his last 13 contests and has yet to top 30 points in his six-year NHL career.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Slides two helpers in shutout
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Graves earned two assists along with four blocked shots in Saturday's 4-0 win over the Sabres.
Graves continues to carve out a substantial role on Pittsburgh's blue line, as he's averaging a career-high 21:25 of ice time on the top pair with Kris Letang. However, Graves is not included on the man advantage, acting as the dedicated stay-at-home defender in that duo at even strength and on the penalty kill. With that said, his two-apple delivery from Saturday is a reminder that he's capable of helping out offensively on occasion.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Slings helper
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Graves recorded an assist, four shots on goal and two hits in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Red Wings.
Graves has a helper in each of the last two contests. He helped out on Erik Karlsson's third-period tally Wednesday. Graves isn't known for robust scoring numbers, topping out at 28 points in 75 contests in 2021-22. He's up to two helpers, six shots on net, 12 blocked shots, four hits, four PIM and a plus-3 rating through four outings this season. Graves continues to work on the top pairing with Kris Letang.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Sacrifices body in Friday's win
Rotowire
Graves did not have a point in Friday's 4-0 win against the Capitals, but he did block a game-high five shots.
Graves also posted plus-1 rating and one hit in 24:31 of ice time. The 28-year-old journeyman defenseman will look for his first point as a Penguin in Saturday's game against the Flames.
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Penguins' Ryan Graves: Inks six-year deal with Penguins
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Graves signed a six-year, $27 million contract with Pittsburgh on Saturday, PuckPedia reports.
Graves had eight goals, 26 points, 83 hits and 152 blocks in 78 contests with New Jersey last season while averaging 19:57 of ice time. The 28-year-old defenseman is young enough that he might serve online a top-four role for the full life of that contract. Graves isn't likely to get much power-play ice time, though, and shouldn't be expected to do meaningfully better offensively than he did in 2022-23 (eight goals, 18 assists).
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Devils' Ryan Graves: Suiting up Thursday
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Graves (upper body) is in Thursday's lineup against Carolina, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.
Graves will return from a two-game absence. He's tallied just one assist with 27 blocked shots while averaging 19:51 of ice time through nine postseason contests.
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Devils' Ryan Graves: Won't play Tuesday
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Graves (upper body) will miss Tuesday's Game 4 versus the Hurricanes, Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News and Observer reports.
Graves is set to miss his second straight game despite practicing Monday and Tuesday. Kevin Bahl will likely draw in for the Devils in a limited role. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports the Devils will stick with a seven-defensemen lineup for this contest after they used a similar structure to win Game 3.
