The Pittsburgh Penguins are changing their goaltending tandem once again. The Penguins announced they’ve recalled goaltender Tristan Jarry from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have reassigned Joel Blomqvist in a corresponding transaction.
Jarry has spent much of the last two months with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, managing a 6-5-1 record in 12 games with a .908 SV% and 2.67 GAA. After clearing waivers in mid-January, Pittsburgh made the difficult decision to reassign Jarry to the AHL for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Penguins will now hope Jarry has regained confidence in his game after a relatively strong stretch of play in the AHL.
The Surrey, British Columbia native doesn’t have much runway left with the organization. Jarry parlayed .909 SV% and 2.90 GAA in 47 starts into a five-year $26.88MM extension in Pittsburgh after the 2022-23 season. To put it bluntly, the Penguins haven’t received a quality return on investment.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Jarry has managed a 27-33-9 record through 69 starts with a .897 SV% and 3.04 GAA. He lost his starting role to Alex Nedeljkovic toward the end of last season and hasn’t done anything to earn it back. Still, the Penguins’ goaltending struggles don’t begin and end with Jarry, as the entire goaltending trio has produced a .888 SV% in 63 games with a startling -25.2 goals saved above average, according to Hockey Reference.
Meanwhile, given his struggles in the NHL this season and that he’s only 23 years old, the hourglass was nearly empty for Blomqvist’s stay in Pittsburgh for the remainder of the season. He’s earned a 4-9-1 record through his first 15 NHL starts with a .885 SV% and 3.81 GAA.
Given the early struggles of his career and the Penguins’ lethargic play in front of him for much of the season, it’s prudent for Blomqvist’s development to return to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Uusikaarlepyy, Finland native has been remarkably better in the AHL, boasting a 32-19-10 record in two years with a .917 SV% and 2.38 GAA.