CRANBERRY — Left side defensemen Caleb Jones and Ryan Graves were full participants at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ morning skate Monday.
Jones has been out for most of the season after suffering a lower-body injury in the sixth game of the season. He was the Penguins’ regular left-side defenseman on the third pairing until the injury.
Graves has been passed through waivers this season to be assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has been up and down a few times this season. However, he is currently recovering from a lower-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve Jan. 22.
Coach Dan Muse was non-committal about both players, explaining there were more conversations to have with the training staff and doctors.
The Penguins currently have one open roster spot, so the team cannot activate both. The Penguins have three games remaining before the Olympic break begins on Feb. 6.
The Penguins currently have only six healthy defensemen on the roster, so there is a possibility one will be activated on Monday to serve as an alternate.
Graves, 30, would be the obvious choice to return to WBS, especially with Ilya Solovyov filling the role of a large, physical presence on the left-side of the blue line, and Jones’s contrasting skill set as a quick skating puck mover.
In the short term, the Penguins could also send Jones to the WBS Penguins on a conditioning assignment because he has missed the last 45 games. Assignments can last no more than 14 days.
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