DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has acquired forward Valtteri Puustinen from the Pittsburgh Penguins along with their seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft in exchange for defenseman Ilya Solovyov. Puustinen will report to the Avalanche's American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
Puustinen, 26, has played the entire 2025-26 season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has recorded 26 points (7g/19a) in 35 games. At the time of the trade, Puustinen paced the club in assists and ranked second on the team in points. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton compiled a share of the AHL’s second-best record of 26-11-1-2 this season with Puustinen playing for the club.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward has dressed in 66 career NHL games with Pittsburgh and has registered 24 points (7g/17a). His last appearances came in 2024-25 when he chipped in three points (2g/1a) in 13 games but recorded a 20-point season (5g/15a) with the parent club in 2023-24. Puustinen made his NHL debut on March 11, 2022 and recorded an assist.
A native of Kuopio, Finland, Puustinen has tallied 175 points (72g/103a) over 252 career AHL games from 2021-26. He recorded an AHL career-high of 59 points (24g/35a) in 72 showings during the 2022-23 campaign. The right-shot forward has also appeared in 10 career Calder Cup Playoff contests and has chipped in six points (1g/5a).
Prior to coming to North America, Puustinen played professionally for HPK Hameenlinna in the Liiga, Finland’s top pro league, from 2018-21. He was a member of the HPK club that won the Liiga championship in 2018-19. The following summer, Puustinen was selected by the Penguins in the seventh round (203rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.
On the international stage, Puustinen won silver at the 2021 IIHF World Championship and captured gold at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship. He also competed for the Finns at the 2024 World Championship.
Solovyov was claimed off waivers by the Avalanche on Oct. 3, 2025. He recorded three points (1g/2a) in 16 games for the team this season.
