Penguins add AHL two-way center David Gustafsson from Jets
Pittsburgh turned Jack St. Ivany into David Gustafsson, adding a 149-game NHL center with 91 AHL points and signing rights that extend the move beyond summer.
The Penguins used a one-for-one swap with Winnipeg to bring in David Gustafsson, a 6-foot-2 center whose AHL track record and NHL mileage make him more than a throw-in. Pittsburgh also extended a qualifying offer to retain his rights, turning the deal into a depth play with control beyond this summer.
Kyle Dubas announced the transaction Monday, and the fit is clear in the middle of the roster. Gustafsson arrives with 149 NHL games for the Jets and a five-season body of work in Manitoba that includes 136 AHL games, 34 goals, 57 assists and 91 points. In 2025-26, he posted 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points in 48 games with the Moose, added a plus-12 rating, and followed that with one goal and three assists in seven Calder Cup playoff games. For a Penguins organization that needs reliable center depth behind the NHL lineup, that kind of production matters because it gives Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a player who can handle regular minutes and gives Pittsburgh a call-up option that has already been tested at both levels.
Gustafsson’s profile also reflects why the move carries more weight than a simple roster exchange. Winnipeg drafted him 60th overall in 2018, and the 26-year-old from Tingsryd, Sweden has built a low-drama, utility-style career that can travel between the AHL and NHL without a long adjustment period. Hockey-Reference lists him at 6-foot-2 and 196 pounds with 6 NHL goals and 14 assists, a line that underscores steady depth value rather than top-line upside. That is exactly the kind of center a contender wants on hand when injuries or schedule congestion force shuffling through the lineup.
Pittsburgh’s outgoing piece, Jack St. Ivany, brought his own organizational value. He played 20 NHL games for the Penguins last season and finished with seven assists, then added one goal and five assists in eight AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Across 162 AHL games in the Penguins system, St. Ivany produced 45 points, and his contract runs through 2026-27 with an $850,000 cap hit. Winnipeg gets a controllable depth defenseman; Pittsburgh gets a center with a fuller NHL resume and a stronger recent AHL scoring line. In a summer where every roster spot carries weight, that is a meaningful shift in the pipeline.
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