Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel has been placed on injured reserve as he's expected to miss up to four weeks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Thursday.
Guentzel suffered the injury during Wednesday's loss to the Florida Panthers after taking a hit from defenceman Niko Mikkola midway through the third period. He did not play another shift after the hit.
Guentzel has 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points in 50 games this season. Over his 502-game career, all with Pittsburgh, Guentzel has 219 goals and 247 assists for 466 points.
His projected return is past the March 8 NHL trade deadline, and his name is one that has been involved in various trade rumours. The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent as his five-year, $30-million contract expires after this season.
In a corresponding move Thursday, the Penguins called up three forwards from their AHL team: Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza and Valterri Puustinen.
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