Penguins' Brian Boyle has knee surgery ahead of free agency

The New York Rangers rallied back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime of Sunday's Game 7, advance in the postseason tournament and send the Penguins to their fourth consecutive first-round playoff exit. 

Pittsburgh was without veteran center Brian Boyle for that contest because of the left knee injury he suffered in Friday's Game 6 loss at PPG Paints Arena. It's now unclear if the 37-year-old would've played again this spring had the Penguins won on Sunday. 

The Penguins confirmed on Monday that Boyle underwent successful surgery earlier in the day to repair the knee issue. 

"The procedure on Boyle's left knee was performed by team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas at UPMC Presbyterian-Shadyside," the club explained. 

It's estimated Boyle will require six weeks to recover, but his future beyond that is very much in question. 

Boyle didn't play during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 NHL season but put pen to paper on a one-year contract worth $750,000 with the Penguins last October. He tallied 11 goals and 10 assists across 66 regular-season games and then contributed a pair of assists in the series against the Rangers before he exited Game 6 after taking only two shifts, per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 

It was reported on Monday that Penguins ownership may be "evaluating" the futures of general manager Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke. Both were named to their roles in February 2021. 

One assumes it's too early to know if Hextall and/or Burke would welcome Boyle back or if the big man is interested in returning to the Penguins or any active roster this fall.