Pittsburgh Review

Matt Nieto's return to the NHL after a year-long absence due to injuries has been marked by resilience and determination. Nieto, who last played on November 30, 2023, in Tampa, faced two knee surgeries that threatened his career. His comeback last month was the result of overcoming numerous challenges.

“There’s lots of times over the course of last year where you don’t know if you’re going to get to a point where you’re ready to play again, so it was just very relieving in that sense,” Nieto expressed. “Everyone here was really stoked for me, so it was just an awesome feeling. It feels good to be back out there, for sure.”

Sidney Crosby, who experienced a similar long rehabilitation period due to concussion and neck issues during the 2010-11 and '11-12 seasons, praised Nieto's positive attitude throughout his recovery. “There's a lot of days that are tough where you’re grinding, and for him, he had such a great attitude and worked so hard to get back,” Crosby noted.

Kyle Dubas, Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM, had long wanted Nieto on his team since his time with the Leafs management. He finally succeeded in signing him on the first day of free agency in 2023.

Nieto managed to participate in the team's initial 22 games before requiring laparoscopic surgery on his right knee in January. Despite being sidelined from play and feeling detached from team activities during recovery periods at home or while traveling with family support in Pittsburgh or California – as well as enjoying pastimes like Fortnite – he persevered through adversity.

After reconstructive MCL surgery on his left knee completed this May followed by extensive rehabilitation back home near Temecula under parental care until returning for training camp come fall season; coach Mike Sullivan commended how much effort went into reaching this point: "He's worked extremely hard...I think it speaks volumes about resilience."

Nieto spent some time conditioning with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before rejoining Pittsburgh’s lineup where head coach Sullivan described him as energetic skater capable establishing their game plan through puck pursuit skills along strong penalty-killing abilities: "He brings juice when he plays."

The entire organization celebrated what they saw as remarkable achievement given multiple surgeries endured throughout process leading up now fully integrated once more among teammates eagerly awaiting contributions towards success moving forward together collectively.