Jets acquire Jack St. Ivany from Penguins for David Gustafsson
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets are making a minor player swap ahead of free agency, as the Jets are acquiring defenseman Jack St. Ivany from the Pens in exchange for center David Gustafsson.
St. Ivany, 26, was a fourth-round pick for the Penguins in 2018. He played four years in college after the draft, which means he didn’t make his pro debut until the 2022-23 season, and his NHL debut in the 2023-24 season. Since then, he’s been a tweener between the AHL and NHL. The Manhattan Beach, California product is entering the final year of a three-year contract with an $850,000 cap hit, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of his contract.
St. Ivany is coming off of his first pro season where he played more NHL games than AHL games, but it wasn’t by much. He had seven assists in 20 games with the Penguins this season, while he also had one goal and five assists for six points in eight games while on a conditioning stint with Pittsburgh’s minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He did deal with several injuries during the season, missing the first 28 games of the season due to a lower-body injury, and then an additional 12 games in the final months of the season due to a hand surgery.
Gustafsson, 26, was a second-round pick for the Jets in 2018. He found some success in Winnipeg, making his NHL debut in just his second season post-draft, and then establishing himself as a full-time NHLer in 2022-23, but has since taken steps back, as 2025-26 saw him spend the entire season in the AHL. The Tingsryd, Sweden product is a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his two-year contract with an $850,000 cap hit, although it’s unclear if the Jets qualified him prior to the trade, or if the Penguins plan to after making it.
Gustafsson is coming off of the first season of his professional career where he did not play a game in the NHL. He played 48 games with the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, where he had 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points.