In an article for The Athletic, Josh Yohe shared some early-season insights regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins. After three games into the 2024-25 regular season, the key observation is that the Penguins are allowing Joel Blomqvist to take the reins as their starting goaltender.
Finding consistent goaltending has been a challenge for Pittsburgh in recent years. The organization didn’t anticipate this would be an issue when they signed Tristan Jarry to a five-year, $26.88 million contract after the 2022-23 season. Prior to this deal, Jarry had a solid record of 103-52-17 from 2020 to 2023, with a .915 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average.
Initially, Jarry’s performance seemed to justify the contract, as he posted a .916 save percentage by the end of 2023. However, his play deteriorated significantly in 2024, culminating in a dismal finish to the regular season with an 8-14-3 record, a .891 save percentage, and the loss of his starting position to Alex Nedeljkovic during the critical final games. Nedeljkovic was re-signed to a manageable two-year, $5 million deal, but an injury in the preseason led Pittsburgh to call up Blomqvist from their AHL team.
The Penguins began the regular season with Jarry, who quickly disappointed by allowing six goals on 40 shots in a lopsided loss. They then turned to Blomqvist for their next game against the Detroit Red Wings, where he earned his first NHL victory by making 29 saves on 32 shots. Head coach Mike Sullivan opted to continue with Blomqvist for the subsequent game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he again made 29 saves on 32 shots, although this time in a losing effort.
Yohe points out that while Jarry’s contract suggests the team might be lenient with his mistakes, that’s not the case moving forward. Instead, the Penguins are fostering an open competition for the starting goalie position and are likely to go with whoever is performing best throughout the season.
