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Penguins Have Decision to Make at Goalie

The Pittsburgh Penguins are carrying three goalies, but will need to pull the plug on one of them.

Nick Horwat

Oct 25, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist (30) makes a save on on a deflection by Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman (18) (not shown) during the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Oct 25, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist (30) makes a save on on a deflection by Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman (18) (not shown) during the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images / Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a rough road to kick off the 2024-25 season, and goaltending has been the center of attention. Most notably, Penguins’ expected full-time starter Tristan Jarry had a horrible first few games, followed by a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League.

The Penguins recently recalled Jarry to the NHL roster, but an assumed demotion did not follow. It was assumed the Penguins would assign 22-year-old Joel Blomqvist to the minors when it was time for Jarry to return, but no corresponding moves came with Jarry’s recall.

Not only are the Penguins currently carrying three goalies in Jarry, Blomqvist, and Nedeljkovic, but they’re giving Blomqvist the start against the Dallas Stars.

It seemed pretty obvious that the Penguins would give Jarry another crack at the NHL after a successful stint in the AHL, but that isn’t the case.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has stated before that whichever goalie is performing the best will be the one that gets the starts. In this case, Blomqvist has the hot hand.

Blomqvist has stood out as the Penguins best goalie so far with a 3-4-0 record, .913 save percentage, and 3.25 goals against average. Aside from the goals against average, Blomqvist has the best numbers of any goalie in a Penguins uniform.

Before being sent down, Jarry had a 1-1-0 record with 12 goals against in just three games. Along with a .836 save percentage and 5.47 goals against average, it’s obvious why he needed time to regroup in the AHL.

After returning from a preseason injury, Nedeljkovic hasn’t been overly dominant, either. He holds a 2-3-2 record with a .883 save percentage and 3.07 goals against average.

The three-goalie system isn’t one that will work for the Penguins, especially if they want to give Jarry an extended look at the NHL level again. Blomqvist needs to be playing regularly and won’t be getting the proper amount of action with Jarry and Nedeljkovic crowding the room.

Blomqvist doesn’t need waivers to be sent to the AHL, making him the likeliest to be moved to relieve the logjam.

Regardless of the numbers, Jarry and Nedeljkovic are NHL goalies. Blomqvist is proving to be on the doorstep as an NHL regular. The Penguins have three NHL-caliber guys, but it would be the smarted move to carry just two of them.

The Penguins aren’t giving up Blomqvist any time soon and they just signed Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract over the offseason. It’s up to Jarry to steal the No. 1 spot back.

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Nick Horwat
NICK HORWAT

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