Penguins Recall Koivunen From WBS Amid Malkin Suspension

Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin was suspended five games for slashing Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, and the Penguins' answer from within the organization arrived quickly: general manager Kyle Dubas confirmed the team would recall Ville Koivunen from the AHL in anticipation of Malkin's suspension.

The 22-year-old forward had just been named the AHL Player of the Month for February, topping all AHL players with 16 points, compiling six goals and 10 assists in 11 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He posted four multi-point games during the month, with his high-water mark coming on Feb. 6 when he put up four points (one goal, three assists) in a 6-5 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Koivunen became just the third player in WBS history to win AHL Player of the Month honors, joining Chris Conner (February 2010) and Carter Rowney (March 2016).

The timing of the recall was driven by more than one absence. The suspension compounded an already difficult situation for Pittsburgh, as captain Sidney Crosby is currently out with a lower-body injury sustained at the 2026 Winter Olympic games, leaving the team shallow down the middle. Malkin is slated to miss Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Sunday's game against the Boston Bruins, and three additional matchups against Carolina, Vegas, and Utah, with the Penguins facing a compressed stretch without their two most important forwards.

Malkin's suspension stems from an incident during NHL Game No. 977 in Pittsburgh on Thursday, March 5, when he slashed Dahlin 35 seconds into the second period. The Department of Player Safety cited Malkin's clear intentions and history as reasons for the ban, noting that "this is not the case of an off-balance player bringing his stick down without control" and calling the play "an intentional stick swing that strikes an opponent at a dangerous height."

Into that gap steps Koivunen, who has been the most productive player on the WBS roster this season. He is the only Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward producing above a point-per-game pace, with 11 goals and 33 points in 28 AHL games. He leads the WBS Penguins with 21 assists and ranks second on the team with 32 points, despite skating in just 27 AHL games, while also logging 27 NHL games this season for two goals and seven points. His linemates in Pittsburgh are still being determined, but he figures to slot in either alongside Egor Chinakhov and Tommy Novak in Malkin's second-line spot, or on the third line with Ben Kindel.

Koivunen was voted to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2024-25 after posting 56 points in 63 games with WBS, and was originally a second-round choice by Carolina in the 2021 NHL Draft before being acquired by Pittsburgh via trade on March 7, 2024. A native of Oulu, Finland, he previously spent three seasons with Liiga club Kärpät Oulu.

The broader context is a 22-year-old prospect navigating the most demanding part of his development curve. His AHL production places him among the league's elite, but his NHL numbers reflect what many young forwards encounter in that transition: limited ice time, averaging 12:38 per game in Pittsburgh this season, and seven points in limited opportunities. Dubas expressed confidence in the move, saying, "We've got big expectations of Ville and a lot of belief in him," a signal that Pittsburgh views this not as a stopgap, but as a genuine audition for a roster spot during a playoff push.

Malkin had been having a resurgent season before the suspension, posting 13 goals, 34 assists, and 47 points in 46 games, meaning the production Koivunen is being asked to help replace is significant. With Pittsburgh in playoff contention and a back-to-back against Philadelphia and Boston on the immediate schedule, the next two weeks will tell the organization a great deal about whether Koivunen can finally stick.