Heading into the 2025-26 season expectations are pretty low for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are going through a rebuild and have yet to trade away some of their better veteran players. This is something that will likely happen at some point in the next month and a half or so.
The forward roster as currently constructed (with Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell) would have a puncher’s chance to make the playoffs. The forward unit is probably middle of the pack in the NHL and if you combined it with league average goaltending they would probably be near the cutoff for the playoffs.
Penguins goalies ranked near the bottom
However, the goaltending issue remains a huge question mark and has potential to sink even a good team.
I don’t think anybody would take issue with the Penguins goaltending being ranked near the bottom of the league.
Pittsburgh Penguins (T5) – If the Rangers and Islanders are regional brothers defined by strength in net, the Flyers and Penguins are the polar opposite. Tristan Jarry’s been so inconsistent that Kyle Dubas made an aggressive move to acquire Arturs Silovs from Vancouver — a goalie who has looked fantastic at every competitive level except for the NHL (88.0 per cent stop rate in 19-games). However, at 24 years old, you’re more willing to bet on upside and development here. Nevertheless, if Silovs is more of what we have seen in a very limited sense with Vancouver, the Penguins do not have a comfortable situation in net.
The only thing Tristan Jarry is consistent at is being inconsistent. Moreover, he has a large enough sample in the league where you just can’t trust you are going to get a steady showing from him over a season sample. Peaks and valleys are the norm and they usually happen at the opposite times you would want them in. Instead of playing well when the team is competitive, unfortunately, he is either injured or underperforming. When the team is at the end of a lost season where losing games would help the Penguins draft position, there is Jarry playing his best hockey of the year. It has been a frustrating run for Jarry and one of Dubas’ biggest Penguins mistakes was giving him his five-year contract.
Pittsburgh traded for Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks. As mentioned above, he has a nice track record in the leagues below the NHL, it just hasn’t clicked at the NHL level. His age makes him a nice dart throw to see if he can gain traction in the league. Being 24 if he were to become an NHL starter he would be able to help the team when things are finally turning the corner to be competitive again. Meanwhile, the Penguins will likely give him a decent amount of game action this year.
Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov still have work to do as professionals. They need more reps and need to find success in the AHL before they can be counted on for NHL minutes. Blomqvist looked like he might have been able to take the step up last year. Unfortunately, he drowned in his NHL minutes. In 15 games played he only had an .885 save percentage.
Murashov was really good in the ECHL with a .922 save percentage in 26 games played. He earned a promotion to the Baby Penguins and was .913 in his 16 regular season games. It’s a good start to his North American career after 42 games. Another quality sample in the AHL and he may earn himself some NHL time before he turns 22 in April. For now, he’s developing and not a reliable NHL option, thus not helping the tier 5 ranking for the Penguins.
Ultimately, even if the Penguins had a solid NHL roster they would still be fighting against the current with their goaltending situation. When the Penguins eventually turn things around this is going to be an area that needs to be addressed, whether through development of players already in the system, or going with a different veteran not named Tristan Jarry.
For now, it isn’t a problem that needs an immediate answer, as the team is in rebuild mode.
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Jarry would be an attractive option for a team that doesn’t have a solid #1. 1A/1B situation. He’s been known to have really strong streaks. Ride those when you get them. I would never trust him as my starter. If the Pens eat some cap, I think they’ll find takers. If you account for the travesty the Pens called defense the last few years, Jarry might be a sneaky good pickup for a good team.
Agreed on Jarry. If he goes to the right spot, he will do great. That said, he will do poorly on the teams that really need a goalie. I don’t think he would do well in Edmonton at all. LA was the perfect spot for him, we should have been the ones to pull off that PLD trade, not Washington.