Penguins place Ilya Solovyov on waivers

A young rearguard looks to be returning to the minors.

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Ilya Solovyov on waivers, making him available to the other 31 teams in the NHL.

If Solovyov clears on Saturday, he would become eligible to be assigned to the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

The move to place Solovyov on the wire could be in correlation to the return of forward Bryan Rust. The veteran started the season on the injured/non-roster list thanks to an upper-body injury he suffered during the preseason. Yet, he was able to make his season debut on Wednesday night, when the Penguins fell to the Washington Capitals.

Solovyov was on the opening-night roster to begin the 2026-27 campaign, but hasn’t appeared in any games thus far. He played in a total of 30 games in the NHL last season, starting off the year with the Colorado Avalanche before being traded to Pittsburgh in January. The Belarusian blueliner notched a goal and seven assists for eight points, all career highs. He also had an even plus/minus while averaging a little under 13 minutes of ice time per game. He also appeared in three games for Pittsburgh during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which saw the team be eliminated by the rival Philadelphia Flyers.

If the 26-year-old does clear waivers, he could be playing in the AHL for the first time since the 2024-25 season, when he was part of the Calgary Flames organization.

Solovyov is on a one-year, one-way contract with the Penguins, which he signed last May. The deal has a league-minimum cap hit of $850,000.

In 45 regular-season games in the NHL, Solovyov has posted a goal and 12 points. In 254 games in the AHL, regular-season and postseason combined, he has notched 20 goals and 53 assists for 73 points.

All three players placed on waivers on Thursday –  New Jersey Devils forward Stefan Noesen, San Jose Sharks winger Brett Leason and Detroit Red Wings forward Chase Stillman – cleared. They can now be assigned to their respective AHL clubs.