Let the business conversation begin.
The Pittsburgh Penguins made headlines Thursday by signing goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract worth $2.5 million annually.
Is Tristan Jarry a lock as the Penguins’ No. 1 goaltender going forward? Will he be transferred?
These are reasonable questions after the team announced the deal Thursday afternoon.
Penguins general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas hinted in his postseason press conference that bringing Nedeljkovic back would be difficult due to Jarry’s presence and goaltending talent in the Penguins’ system.
Maybe he didn’t think he could sign Nedeljkovic to this type of deal. It would seem that Nedeljkovic probably could have made more money on the open market, where many teams will be thirsty for good goaltending. But his career took a turn in Pittsburgh last season and he apparently had little interest in leaving.
Nedeljkovic, 28, surpassed Jarry as the Penguins’ starting goaltender last season, starting every game from March 26 to the end of the season, leading the Penguins on an impressive run that nearly led them to an improbable place in the playoffs.
He finished last season with an 18-7-7 record, 2.97 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
The questions surrounding Jarry are going to intensify. He has four years left on his contract at an annual rate of $5.35 million. The Penguins were dissatisfied with his performance in the second half of last season, which has become a trend as Jarry has failed to convert his traditionally strong starts to the season into lasting reliability.
Many teams need goaltenders, and while Jarry has never won a playoff series, his career numbers are solid and he’s only 29 years old.
It could simply be that the Penguins are going to start the season with Jarry and Nedeljkovic as their goaltending duo, which would give them one of the best goaltending situations in the NHL.
However, given the holes in their lineup and the amount of money Jarry makes, it’s fair to wonder if Dubas will hang him up in the coming days. The NHL Draft will be held on June 28-29 and free agency will begin on July 1.
Nedeljkovic, like Jarry, handles the puck extremely well and was a second-round pick.
Nedeljkovic, a native of Ohio, said he immediately felt comfortable in Pittsburgh and played some of the best hockey of his career, putting up good numbers despite playing behind a Penguins team that was less than impressive defensively.
Perhaps the most telling example of the Penguins’ brass’ feelings toward their goaltenders came on April 17, when the Penguins played a meaningless regular-season finale on the road against the Islanders.
Nedeljkovic had played every match for almost a month and looked exhausted. Jarry was fresh and healthy.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan gave Nedeljkovic the start.
You will have many opportunities to do so in the future. The real question now is whether Nedeljkovic will be the starting goalkeeper or the backup.
(Photo: Matthew Stockman//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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