With Jarry Back on Board, Goaltending Decisions Loom Large for Penguins

There’s always been the odd person out there with something they should say… and, well, sometimes he says it to themselves…! When someone needs your assistance they often turn up with gifts! So… have some faith, have some patience… and try them on for size…! Since the opening of 2024-25 season, Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltending situation has been an issue of great debate and attention. On Saturday, however, things became even more volatile; Tristan Jarry returned from his 14-day AHL conditioning loan, while forward Matt Nieto joined him. Additionally, goaltender Tristan Jarry has been activated back into their lineup while forward Matt Nieto joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). Additionally, forward Matt Nieto has also been assigned there on loan condition loan loan loan as Tristan Jarry rejoined his conditioning loan while Matt Nieto joined his teammates while Matt Nieto joined him there on loan as well. At this point, it seems the Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) will carry three goaltenders once again: Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist. Due to Cody Glass being on injured reserve and Nieto being on conditioning stint for 14 days maximum, they’ll have more time – though when his conditioning stint comes to an end they’ll face tough choices to make in terms of goaltending situation going forward. “They can only keep three goaltenders for so long,” head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledged, adding “Decisions like these can always be tough; all three goaltenders are terrific people with lots of care for one another and want to play. These decisions always pose difficulty.” “Our task will be to select a goalie who provides us with the highest chance to succeed, while still having faith in all these outstanding goaltenders,” stated Coach Kelly. “Most believed that when Jarry became active, rookie netminder Blomqvist would be sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as soon as a contract could be secured for him. However, after an impressive 32-save effort in Friday’s 4-2 win against playoff contender Washington Capitals, Blomqvist showed why he belongs at NHL level:”I thought my performance has been pretty decent here,” Blomqvist noted after Friday’s victory. “So we will wait and see what transpires within the next couple of days. “When asked about his level of confidence overall, he responded: “Can’t really think too hard. Need to take it one puck at a time; one game at a time; just do my best day-by-day.” “Comparing each Penguins goaltender by pure numbers–including goals-against average (GAA), save percentage (SV%), and average shot volume per game–looks something like this:- Jarry: 5.47 GAA,.836 SV% and 24.3 shots faced per game (73)- Nedeljkovic: 3.07 GAA,.883 SV% 26.9 shots per game (188) – Blomqvist is outperforming his counterparts across many areas as well. Traditional numbers don’t show that much difference among Penguins’ three goaltending veteran counterparts though. Joel Blomqvist ranks highly among NHL leaders for stopping high-danger shots: After last night’s impressive display he now ranks 3rd best among players with 5.52 saves above average on high-danger saves above average saves above average high-danger shots saved against. At such times, it is of vital importance for Penguins goalies to excel. At the outset of his career, Bo Horvat’s performance has been outstanding pic.twitter.com/2QyhkGloOr– Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal). At this stage in the season, Blomqvist has proven himself the superior goaltender on their side. Though Jarry would seem the obvious candidate to get sent down due to his waiver exemption status, things might not go so easily; Nedeljkovic is 28 and may represent some competition for that spot. Blomqvist, 22 years old and part of the Penguins future plans. If he were to stick around long term however, this might necessitate moving one or more other goalies via trade as there are multiple contending teams across the league in need of goaltending help. Right now. That is precisely why it might be wise for the Penguins to allow Jarry more room during these next games. At its best, what they hope for with Nedeljkovic would be for him to go on an impressive run and become marketable, which only can occur through playing time. Should this option fail however, trading him might become inevitable sooner rather than later – whether or not that means moving him off-ice altogether may still remain possible depending on which team takes over his duties between the pipes in Pittsburgh; but either way it gives the Penguins options between the pipes, promising future talent on defense as well. Unfortunately that future may need postponing just a bit longer.