With their fourth straight loss on Tuesday in the form of a 6-1 dud to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins are just two points out of the basement of the Eastern Conference.
And each loss – each missed opportunity – that goes by makes the Penguins’ playoff hopes seem more and more like a pipe dream. In their past three games, Pittsburgh has been outscored 19-7.
Yes, this is a putrid defensive team, and yes, they’re not putting the puck in the back of the net with nearly enough frequency.
But their goaltending – as it has been for several years at this point – is letting them down in a big way.
Neither of their guys at the NHL level right now are playing well. Alex Nedeljkovic has surrendered 11 goals in two games since the break – he was pulled in the first one – and rookie Joel Blomqvist has given up seven goals in parts of two games.
The Penguins are at a goaltending crossroads in their organization. Tristan Jarry, who is 29, performed so poorly this season that he was sent down for an AHL conditioning stint at the beginning of the season and was eventually waived on Jan. 15. Nedeljkovic – also 29 – played well for seven games before the 4 Nations break but has been inconsistent otherwise, posting an .893 save percentage on the season.
Blomqvist was pretty good in his first NHL stint this season, but in his second stint – that has consisted of sporadic starts and irregular playing time because of Nedeljkovic’s hot streak – he has struggled.
But the difference here is that Blomqvist is 23, and as of now, he figures to be part of the Penguins’ future. And so does Filip Larsson, the 26-year-old goaltender who has been a huge part of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s success this season with a .922 save percentage. And so does Sergei Murashov, 20, who has been dominating in both his ECHL (.926 save percentage) and AHL stints this season (.934 save percentage).
Nedeljkovic and Jarry – two underachieving veterans – are both committed beyond this season. Jarry’s contract and cap hit make him near-immovable.
Which is why the Penguins need to deal Nedeljkovic by the NHL trade deadline.
Until one of the veterans is out of the picture, the Penguins’ promising young crop of goaltending prospects is going to be blocked from being at the level they should be.
Murashov has shown he is more than ready for the AHL, but with Jarry and Larsson currently there, he has to remain in the ECHL. And Larsson – as well as Blomqvist – has earned a chance to play at the NHL level, but he can’t as long as Nedeljkovic is there.
#LetsGoPens head coach Mike Sullivan on rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist:
“He’s very athletic. We’re really excited about this guy. But he’s a young goaltender, and he’s going through a learning process here. So, the challenge is on us as a coaching staff to help him.”
— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) February 23, 2025
The Penguins are at a point where they need to see what they have in some of their younger goaltenders with promise, win or lose. Even if Blomqvist is struggling, they have to let him work through those struggles at the NHL level. The Penguins don’t figure to be a good team for at least another year or two, and the best thing for his development at this point is for the organization to show their confidence in him by giving him the runway to work out the flaws in his game.
The same concept applies to Larsson, who has yet to play at the NHL level and had his previous chance with the Detroit Red Wings organization thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But, again, Larsson cannot join Blomqvist at the NHL level until Nedeljkovic is off the roster.
Trading Nedeljkovic ensures that Murashov – the organization’s most intriguing and high-ceiling goaltending prospect – is where he should be in his development, which is starting games at the AHL level. And it also ensures that at least Blomqvist will be starting games at the NHL level, whether Jarry is his backup or he tandems with Larsson, who has also earned a shot.
Something has got to give with the Penguins’ goaltending situation. Holding back guys like Murashov, Larsson, and Blomqvist – when they have proven they are ready to take the next step and when the Penguins don’t have much to lose anyway – could stunt their development in a way that could hurt the organization long-term.
It’s the right move. Nedeljkovic’s hot streak before the break may have earned him some points with contending teams in need of a reliable backup, and his $2.5 million salary for one more season will hardly be a blip on the radar with the steep rise in cap.
And even if he’s not in high demand, it wouldn’t be difficult – or hurt the Penguins – to attach a mid-late-round draft pick to a deal in order to offload his salary and open up his spot on the roster.
There’s a chance that goaltending help for the Penguins – and the help they have coveted since their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs in 2016 and 2017 – is in the very near future. But the onus falls entirely on the organization to do all that is necessary to make way for these promising young netminders to develop the way they should – and they way the need to.
Sometimes, the easiest path isn’t the wrong one. So, the Penguins need to go for the easiest solution and deal Nedeljkovic if and when the phone starts ringing.
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