Earlier this week we wrote that things will likely be quieter for the Penguins and professional tryouts this season, but left guard stood out as an area of ​​need. Today it was announced that Pittsburgh is signing a left-handed defenseman on a paid leave who will go a long way toward filling that need, at least in training camp.

Knyzhov, a 26-year-old who stands 6’3″ and weighs 220 pounds, has played for the San Jose organization for the past four seasons. He appeared in a total of 81 NHL games for the Sharks, but his contract was mutually terminated for this season after he fell out of their plans and would play more in the AHL than the NHL in 2023-24.

Pittsburgh’s new assistant coach David Quinn will be in charge of defense. Of course, he’s officially with the Sharks, which explains why Pittsburgh might be interested in taking a look at this particular player.

But this PTO has nothing to do with immediate NHL impact. The Pens are already well-stocked on the left side, Pittsburgh signed Matt Grzelcyk and Sebastian Aho from outside the organization this summer and opted to bring back Ryan Shea. John Ludvig had wrist surgery in the spring and is also in the running, and Marcus Pettersson and Ryan Graves are also in the NHL.

With an injury to the NHL defense midseason likely to result in one of Shea and Ludvig, if not both, being recalled to Pittsburgh, there was a need within the organization for more depth for Wilkes-Barre. Knyzhov could be key to that, making him sort of this year’s version of Libor Hajek or Dmitri Samorukov. Hajek was also a relatively young defenseman signed to a PTO contract (and eventually an AHL contract), Samorukov was initially signed to an AHL contract and eventually upgraded to an NHL contract after injuries.

The paid vacation should be good for the Pens, it’s never a bad thing to get a look at a player who is still relatively young. Knyzhov doesn’t see an obvious path to making the NHL roster after training camp, but that doesn’t mean all opportunities for future employment are lost. If he performs well, he could be a key asset and help the team in Wilkes.