Penguins Set 23-Player Roster, O’Connor Re-Assigned; Boyle Not Included…Not Yet

The Pittsburgh Penguins set their 23-man roster on Monday afternoon in accordance with the NHL deadline before the start of the 2021-22 NHL regular season. There are no surprises on the roster, but even though it’s official, it may not be final.

The reason the roster may not be official is big 6-foot-6 Brian Boyle is not yet signed.

On Monday, head coach Mike Sullivan indicated Boyle was in negotiations to join the team. He attended the Penguins training camp on PTO, which technically expired today when the team submitted their official roster without him.

Multiple reports indicated Boyle was expected to sign a contract on Tuesday, which will affect the Penguins roster ahead of their regular season debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday night at Amalie Arena. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. for the ESPN TV audience.

Monday morning, the Penguins demoted Radim Zohorna to the WBS Penguins of the AHL. Anthony Angello, who cleared waivers on Sunday, was demoted, as was training camp standout Drew O’Connor.

The Penguins roster has 14 forwards, including four who will not play on Tuesday: Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Zach Aston-Reese, and Jake Guentzel.

Also, the team has not yet officially put Malkin on LTIR. According to Puckpedia.com, Malkin is still on the active roster and counting over $9.5 million against the Penguins salary cap.

GM Ron Hextall recently confirmed Malkin was out for at least two more months.

The team may have to recall one of the re-assigned players to fill 12 forwards on Tuesday and Thursday night in Florida, in addition to confirming Boyle’s signing. O’Connor and Angello were on the ice with the Penguins during practice on Monday morning.

Sam Lafferty also made the team out of camp.

Pittsburgh Penguins 14 forwards:

Defensemen:

Goalies: