After spending nearly a month on the team’s long-term injured reserve, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have activated goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, and have sent down Magnus Hellberg to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Nedeljkovic played in two games for the Penguins, earning a .914 SV% and a 3.01 GAA, before being sidelined by a lower-body injury. Hellberg assumed the role of backup goaltender in Pittsburgh, sporting a 1-0-0 record in three games played, producing a .922 SV% and a 2.50 GAA.
As an older rookie in the 2020-21 regular season, Nedeljkovic finished third in Calder Trophy voting after managing a 15-5-3 record with the Carolina Hurricanes, leading the league in both SV% and GAA in 23 games started.
In an attempt to solidify their goaltending for the upcoming season, the Detroit Red Wings acquired Nedeljkovic from the Hurricanes for the signing rights to goaltender Jonathan Bernier and a third-round draft selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Unfortunately for both he and the team, Nedeljkovic’s tenure in Detroit did not play out as well as the team would have hoped, as he carried a 25-31-11 record in 74 games played, with a .900 SV% and a 3.35 GAA over his two years with the organization.
The Red Wings chose to place Nedeljkovic on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the AHL, indicating that his time with the Original Six franchise may be nearing its end. Nevertheless, the team would non-tender Nedeljkovic, allowing him to sign in Pittsburgh to a one-year, $1.5M contract for this season.
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