Sullivan Tip Toes Around Penguins’ 3-Goalie Plan; Jarry Faces Reality
Three goalies and one net. The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltending situation got a little more crowded and a lot more convoluted on Saturday when the team recalled Alex Nedeljkovic from his conditioning assignment with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Nedeljkovic is on the Penguins’ four-game road trip, which begins today in Winnipeg and then winds through Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
Read More:Â UPDATED: Nedeljkovic Back; Penguins Taking All 3 Goalies on Trip
Sullivan didn’t tip his hand with specifics on Saturday, but the largest mystery involving the trio of Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic, and rookie Joel Blomqvist remains the share of labor.
If the Penguins hadn’t planned to play Blomqvist, he would have been sent back to WBS. However, Blomqvist remains with the team.
Jarry’s struggles are now well-documented. He fell from near the top of the league in save percentage to a final mark of merely .903. He was benched for the final 13 games last season. Following the disappointment of being relegated to backup duty and missing the playoffs, Jarry has struggled in two of his three starts this season, getting pulled Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
“We’ve tried to put together a plan to try to help Tristan and capture his very best game. And we know what that looks like,” Sullivan said. “And then at the same time, as far as decisions on which guys are going in the net, performance is going to be the ultimate dictator, as it is in all the positions.”
Jarry’s situation is also the most complicated of the three. Counting this season, he has four years remaining on a contract with an average annual value of $5.375 million.
Nedeljkovic is on a two-year contract with a $2.5 million AA V. Blomqvist is the only one of the three who is waivers exempt. After being roughed up behind a no-show defensive effort against the Carolina Hurricanes, Blomqvist has a .908 save percentage and a 3.16 goals against. average.
Jarry currently has an .836 save rate. When Nedeljkovic next plays, it will be his first game of the season.
‘These players, they’re human beings. They’re not unlike any of the rest of us, and they go through stretches where maybe their confidence isn’t at the level that it needs to be,” Sullivan said. “And we’re trying to work with our guys in that regard. Sometimes, when players struggle in any of the positions, in a lot of my experiences, you can be your own biggest obstacle.
“You’ve got to find a way to get out of your own way and allow your instincts to take over. These guys are terrific athletes. (Jarry) He is a really good goaltender, and he’s shown that in this league. We’ve got to find a way to help him, take some of that load off him, and just let him dig in and work through this process and get back to that instinctive mindset in which players are at their very best.”
Jarry has been the Penguins’ primary goalie since replacing Matt Murray following the 2020 season. However, he did not have a good playoff series against the New York Islanders in 2021, and that’s putting it charitably.
Then, in 2022, Jarry suffered a late-season ankle injury that required surgery and should have prevented him from playing in the Round One series against the New York Rangers. However, with a heavy tape job, he played in Game 7 of the Round One loss to the New York Rangers.
“It’s about not being disappointed. It’s about a new mindset. It’s a new season for me, so I think it’s just a reset,” said Jarry. “You can’t dwell on what happened last season. I think you have to learn from it and be better. And I think that’s something that when I get through this and when I’m over this hump, I will be better for it.”
Sullivan will announce the starting goalie and backup when he addresses the media at 1 p.m. ET.
However, it would seem unlikely to be Jarry with Blomqvist earning praise for keeping the Penguins in the game against Carolina Friday and the Penguins cutting short Nedeljkovic’s conditioning assignment with WBS in order to be with the NHL team.
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If only it were a “plan”, more like crisis management a la, “eenie, miney, miney, mo” .
Id tell Jarry and the other two goalies to feel free to jump down the throat of those D-men who keep hanging yous out to dry…..Henrick Lunquist never put up with that crap from his D-men.