Penguins are all in on goaltender Tristan Jarry
The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to report to training camp Wednesday with the first day of on-ice activities coming Thursday. Here is a look at their depth at goaltender:
It was an offseason full of change for the Penguins, from the top on down.
There’s new management in president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas, a new future member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in defenseman Erik Karlsson, a steady 20-goal scoring winger fresh off a Stanley Cup run in Reilly Smith, a new shutdown left-handed defenseman in Ryan Graves and a menagerie of bottom-six forwards with Noel Acciari, Lars Eller and Matt Nieto.
Heck, even the local television network the Penguins’ games will be on is new.
But perhaps the most consequential transaction for the franchise this summer involved remaining status quo.
The decision to re-sign starting goaltender Tristan Jarry to a five-year contract worth $5.375 million a season was borne out of a lack of better options in the free agent and trade markets as well as another more profound factor.
Faith.
Dubas flew to Edmonton, Alberta in June to meet with Jarry and came away with enough confidence to invest a lengthy franchise-altering contract into a talented two-time All-Star who has dealt with numerous injuries in recent seasons.
“Getting to know Tristan,” Dubas said July 1. “That is what made me comfortable to go down that path with him. It’s been very clear to him what my expectations are in terms of him continuing to be in great shape, put himself to be in position to be as healthy as possible and to continue to play the number of games that he has.”
Jarry appeared in 47 games last season and had a 24-13-7 record, a 2.90 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and two shutouts. But the second half of his season was pockmarked by various ailments that sidelined him for 17 of the final 45 games of the season. And when he was in the lineup, it was clear he wasn’t always completely healthy as he struggled to keep pucks out of the net on a consistent basis.
The Penguins are betting on Jarry being healthy — and being a goaltender they can win with — in a big way.
But they didn’t place that bet without buying a little insurance.
While Jarry remains in place, the goaltending depth below him underwent considerable remodeling.
Gone is long-time backup Casey DeSmith, who was dealt away via trade. Replacing him is Alex Nedeljkovic, a free agent signing.
Nedeljkovic is something of a reclamation project. Selected to the NHL’s All-Rookie team in 2020-21 as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes, Nedeljkovic struggled in the subsequent two seasons as a member of the Detroit Red Wings and even spent the majority of the 2022-23 campaign in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
The Penguins are betting/hoping he’ll regain the form from his promising rookie season.
Another newcomer is the massive Magnus Hellberg, another free agent signee. One of the biggest goaltenders in professional hockey at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Hellberg is the epitome of a journeyman having spent time with the Red Wings, Ottawa Senators and Seattle Kraken in just the 2022-23 season alone. A native of Sweden, he has played for 18 different professional teams in both hemispheres.
Should the Penguins need to play Hellberg, their presumed third goaltender, that means something went horribly wrong with Jarry and Nedeljkovic. But, he’ll presumably be a better option than their previous third goaltenders such as Dustin Tokarski or Louis Domingue.
The team has two intriguing, but raw prospects in Joel Blomqvist and Taylor Gauthier, but neither is close to being NHL-ready.
The Finnish-born Blomqvist, a second-round draft pick (No. 52 overall) who is one of the organization’s top prospects, is expected to start a season in North America for the first time in his professional career (with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL). And the undrafted Gauthier made his professional debut last season, appearing in only 20 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
