On Saturday night, Hockey Night in Canada panelist Elliotte Friedman reported that other teams believed the Pittsburgh Penguins could deal a goalie before the March 8 NHL trade deadline.
The natural assumption was the potentially available goalie was pending unrestricted free agent Alex Nedeljkovic. However, on his Monday edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman expounded on that topic, saying he received a call Sunday morning that opened the door much wider.
“But somebody said that this is not limited to Nedeljkovic, that I think teams have asked about (Tristan) Jarry,” said Friedman on the podcast. “I think teams have asked about (Joel) Blomqvist, who’s their top prospect, who’s played very well in Wilkes-Barre this year. So what I do think there is Pittsburgh has an extra goalie, and they will listen. That is not impossible, that a goalie moves out of Pittsburgh.”
You can listen to the full 32 Thoughts podcast here.
Until a rough outing Sunday, Jarry was tied for seventh in the NHL with a .916 save percentage. However, after the firewagon affair against the Philadelphia Flyers, in which he allowed six goals on 22 shots, his save percentage fell to .911.
Nedeljkovic also had a rough week, allowing a couple of soft goals in the 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
“I (soiled) the bed,” Nedeljkovic said after the game. His save percentage stands at .915 in 19 appearances this season.
The interesting new name is Blomqvist, who has been the No. 1 goalie with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and has a .918 save percentage. Jarry is signed for five years after this season
“There is an obvious caveat,” said Pittsburgh Hockey Now’s Dan Kingerski. “Any team can call about any player, and a GM will usually listen. To pry Jarry or Blomqvist from the Penguins would take a serious offer. Lost in the trade-talk fervor is the Penguins’ desire to make the playoffs. They believe they’re in it, and they’re not going to sell to appease the internet.”
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