Ryan Graves 'in great shape,' ready to answer Kyle Dubas' challenge in second Penguins season

Cameron Hoover / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ryan Graves bristles a bit when asked about it. You probably would, too, if you’d heard it as much as Graves has since he came to Pittsburgh.

But after a disappointing first season in black and gold, Graves returned to Penguins training camp Wednesday ready to answer Kyle Dubas’ challenge and show what he can really do on the blue line.

“I know that I’m not thrilled with how I played last year, and I know it’s not up to my standard. But I have full confidence I’ll be better this year,” Graves said Wednesday.

“I think a lot was made of it. The media loves a negative storyline. If you read the storylines, you’d think I played bad every night. And that’s not the case. I’m a guy that prides myself on consistency and being reliable, and that just wasn’t there. There were good games. There were bad games, but I’m able to look at the good ones and improve on it.”

Graves didn’t live up to expectations in his first season in Pittsburgh after signing a six-year free agent deal worth an average annual value of $4.5 million back in the 2023 offseason. In 70 games played, Graves only scored three goals and provided 11 assists, the lowest full-season points total of his career. He often looked lost defensively, as well, never quite finding his footing on the Penguins blue line. Later in the year, he was relegated to the third pair.

After the season, Dubas, the team’s president of hockey operations, issued a bit of a challenge to the defenseman from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

“There’s no dancing around it. Did I expect it to go the full year? No,” Dubas said of Graves’ struggles at his end-of-season press conference. “I think part of that is on us as an organization, and it’s as much on Ryan to push and find his way through the summer. It’s a massive summer for him. ... I fully expect him to come back in next year and have a great year.”

Graves took that summer challenge to heart. He said he put in “a lot of work” during the warmer months, and it shows — physically, at least. Graves, the Penguins’ biggest-bodied defenseman at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, said he showed up in “great shape.” If he’s at his best, having a defender that size plugging gaps could be invaluable for a Penguins team looking to return to prominence.

“The summer’s long when you have a little bit of a sour taste in your mouth,” Graves said. “ ... Just a different strategy in the training and a lot of the work with the team here. Trying to improve things — a little more pop, a little quicker. I’m in better shape than I was coming into camp last year.”

And as Graves works to improve and show what he can really do, his coach gave him a word of support Wednesday.

“He’s in great shape. He looks terrific,” Mike Sullivan said. “It’s never an easy thing to come to a new team. So I think Ryan’s second year now, he comes back to Pittsburgh, he has an understanding of what the expectations are. I think he has more of a comfort level with his surroundings. He has established relationships with his coaching staff. I think there’s a lot of things, just familiarity that might help a player like Ryan in that second year in making that adjustment. So we know that Ryan has the ability to be more of an impact player. We anticipate that he will be, and it’s our job to help him get there.”

Even as Graves’ first season with the Penguins didn’t begin the way he wanted, he was disappointed when it ended prematurely. Graves picked up a concussion on March 28 against the Blue Jackets and was placed on long-term injured reserve shortly thereafter, effectively ending his season.

Graves described the play as an unlucky fluke but said his condition was improving by the end of the season. He posited that had the Penguins reached the postseason, he would’ve been able to play.

“It’s tough, you know? Those injuries are hard,” he said. “It’s a tough one because you don’t feel it right away. When it first happened, I finished my shift. I was fine. It was a very innocent hit. I’m sure if you watch the game, you’re not even gonna find it. But you just don’t feel right. I had a headache right away. It’s good that there’s a protocol in place. ... I thought because it was a small hit that it was gonna be a quick recovery, but each one’s different.”

Now, though, that issue is behind him, and Graves is looking forward again — for himself and for the Penguins.

“It’s good to be back,” he said. “We’re looking for bigger and better things this year. It’s a good vibe here. Guys are excited. It’s not the same expectation on the group, but maybe more so inside the room, we’re expecting big things from ourselves. ...

“I know I’m still a good player. It’s just a lot of work, but it’ll be a better year. Looking forward to getting back at it.”