Penguins Add Larmi, Bellerive & Currie to Taxi Squad, Send 3 to WBS

The Pittsburgh Penguins did a little housekeeping on Friday morning. In a move which appears predicated on getting their taxi squad players some game action, the Pittsburgh Penguins demoted goalie Maxime Legace, forwards Frederick Gaudreau and Anthony Angello to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. The Penguins also recalled three players to take their place.

The Penguins recalled Finnish goalie Emil Larmi, forwards Jordie Bellerive and Josh Currie to the taxi squad, according to GM Ron Hextall.

Bellerive, 21, was an undrafted free agent who earned a contract with a strong rookie camp in 2017 but made national news in the summer of 2018 when he and several current and former Lethbridge Hurricanes teammates suffered severe burns after a campfire accident, which also put another teammate into a coma.

Bellerive made an impact on the Pittsburgh Penguins organization when he led the Penguins at the 2017 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. He notched seven points (4g, 3a) in three games. He earned him a three-year, entry-level deal with the Penguins on Sept. 16, 2017.

Before turning pro with WBS at the end of the 2018-19 season, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound Bellerive played four seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. He was the captain for two seasons. Bellerive notched 267 points (117G-150A) with Lethbridge and was a plus-37 in 274 games.

Larmi backstopped his team to HPK to the Finnish Elite League championship in 2018 and signed with the Penguins as a free agent in the summer of 2019. His first season in North America was up and down, as he both showed both flashes of brilliance and struggled at the AHL level. The organization demoted him to the ECHL for a short time.

This season, Larmi is 1-1-1, with an .893 save percentage and a 3.66 GAA.

Currie has 21 games of NHL experience with the Edmonton Oilers in 2018-19. Currie had five points (2g, 3a) in that time.

Per NHL rules, teams must carry at least three goalies this season. However, the taxi squad does not often practice or skate with the main group for safety protocols.