With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season coming to an end without any postseason action, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 52 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from fourth-line center Noel Acciari to reserve winger Radim Zohorna.
This series is scheduled to be published every weekday leading into the second day of the NHL Draft on June 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
John Ludvig
Position: Defenseman
Shoot: Left
Age: 23
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 213 pounds
2023-24 NHL statistics: 33 games, five points (three goals, two assists), 11:48 of average ice time per game
2023-24 AHL statistics: Four games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)
Contract: In the first year of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000. Pending restricted free agent in 2025
Acquired: Waivers claim, Oct. 9, 2023
This season: After the Penguins claimed John Ludvig off waivers a day before the 2023-24 season opened, it took him about two weeks before he got into the lineup.
And once he got on the ice for his NHL debut, he immediately showed what his game was about.
By knocking himself out.
During the second period of a 4-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Oct. 24, Ludvig stepped up in the neutral zone to deliver a massive hit on Stars forward Radek Faksa and did just that but wound up smashing his face into Faksa’s helmet, suffering a concussion.
— EN Videos (@ENVideos19) May 31, 2024
That mishap eventually landed Ludvig on long-term injured reserve and led to a two-game conditioning assignment with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in mid-November.
Back in the NHL lineup by Nov. 22, Ludvig primarily inhabited a role on the third pairing and showed what he was willing to do for his teammates six days later. During a 3-2 road loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 28, Ludvig fought Predators heavyweight forward Michael McCarron (6-foot-6, 232 pounds).
A string of 18 consecutive games in the lineup was interrupted on Dec. 31 when Ludvig tussled with another of the league’s top fighters in New York Islanders forward Matt Martin off the opening faceoff of a 3-1 home win.
Ludvig suffered an undisclosed injury in the fight and was out of the lineup for the next 13 games (11 due to the ailment and two as a healthy scratch). After another two-game conditioning stint with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, Ludvig was back in the NHL lineup by Feb. 10.
After four games, he was a healthy scratch for the next nine consecutive games. Once third-pairing mainstay Chad Ruhwedel was jettisoned at the trade deadline on March 8, Ludvig found steadier playing time and dressed for nine consecutive games, including a 4-0 home loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 10 when he accrued 17 penalty minutes thanks in part to beating up Oilers forward Warren Foegele for high sticking Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson.
On March 12, during a 6-3 home win against the San Jose Sharks, Ludvig’s second career goal wound up being the game-winning score.
THE LUDDY LASER! pic.twitter.com/LYMOWyorMw
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2024
Ludvig’s playing time began to tail off in late March and he wound up playing in only one of the team’s final 12 games, either because of illness or as a healthy scratch (at least as indicated by the NHL’s official game notes).
On April 24, Ludvig underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his left wrist. The team announced his procedure on May 15, offering a timeframe for recovery of four to six months.
The future: Presuming he is healthy by the time training camp opens in mid-September, Ludvig, who turns 24 on Aug. 2, will once again be a candidate for the seventh defenseman role on the team.
He doesn’t have the necessary puck skills to merit a more regular place in the lineup and his rough-and-ready style isn’t forgiving on his body, but given that Ludvig is one of the team’s few substantial sources of physical play, he will merit consideration for the NHL roster’s composition. And for as much as Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is identified as valuing skill above all other attributes, he has sprinkled in appreciation for players who defend teammates on occasion during his tenure with the organization.
Granted, the team could add some extra defensem*n to the mix this offseason, and newcomer Filip Kral or prospect Owen Pickering could make legitimate pushes for the NHL roster. But Ludvig’s unique proclivity — within the realm of this franchise — for physicality will give him a puncher’s chance.
Ludvig will keep fighting — literally — for a roster spot.
Follow the Penguins all season long.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
