Xavier Ouellet Could See Increased Role With Penguins in 2023-24

When the 2022-23 season began, the Pittsburgh Penguins had nine NHL caliber defensemen in their organization.

Through the course of the year, all nine of those players, plus an extra two, would suit up for the Penguins at the NHL level.

General manager Ron Hextall made a trade at the deadline to acquire Dmitry Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks; a number of injuries also forced Taylor Fedun into the lineup for a handful of games.

There is one more name that, had it not been for his own injury, may have also cracked the NHL roster.

Xavier Ouellet was signed by Hextall as a free agent prior to the 2022-23 season and it wasn’t expected he would be anything more than an AHL depth option.

As the season progressed, however, the 29-year-old impressed and found himself named to the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic.

Despite the All-Star selection, Ouellet was unable to go due to a lower-body injury; the injury ended up cutting his season short after only 29 games and 17 points (2G-15A).

Hextall noted that the trade for Kulikov was made to help with the defensive depth.

Both Ouellet and Ty Smith missed a significant amount of time with their own injuries, thus spurring the Kulikov move.

"We lost Ouellet pretty much for the year," Hextall said. "We felt our depth on D is somewhere we had to enhance."

Hextall thought highly of Ouellet, even from day one; Ouellet’s contract keeps him within the Penguins organization for another year on a two-way deal.

Heading into this offseason, the Penguins will see new faces in the front office, and a possible retooling of the on-ice product.

Does Ouellet survive a wave of change and get an improved role heading into the 2023-24 season? It’s possible.

Ouellet is no stranger to the NHL; before arriving in the Penguins’ organization, Ouellet played in 178 career games between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.

The Penguins had 11 defensemen play for them during 2022-23; if Ouellet wasn’t injured, that number may have grown to 12.

It doesn’t make sense for the Penguins to roll into the next season with the same defensive outlook, and if things fall the right way, Ouellet may see his number called for the NHL for the first time since 2020-21.