Penguins’ goaltending depth has an opportunity to flourish following Tristan Jarry trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been quietly building their goaltending depth over the past few years. And as Tristan Jarry’s play started to slip in recent years, they needed to address that as quickly as possible.

The Penguins flipped long-time starter Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday as part of a deal that sent Stuart Skinner the other way. Skinner is a pending UFA, and unless he can find a way to channel his “must-win-at-any-costs” play style that has allowed the Oilers to advance to two Stanley Cup Finals, his days as a starter might be over.

Kyle Dubas and Co. have one key advantage that the Oilers never had with Skinner: goaltending depth. When Skinner struggled, they didn’t have much to fall back on. If he does the same in Pittsburgh, though, the club has three solid goaltenders aged 24 and under: Artūrs Šilovs, Sergei Murashov, and Joel Blomqvist. While none of the three has accomplished much in the NHL right now, they’re all in the midst of great seasons, and they give the Pens the best goaltending depth they’ve had in a very, very, very long time.

Šilovs is the most accomplished of the bunch. He doesn’t have much NHL experience, but won top goalie honors at the 2023 World Hockey Championship. He also won the AHL’s Calder Cup with the Vancouver Canucks‘ top affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Šilovs is 4-4-5 with a shutout and a 4.28 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5. That was better than Jarry (3.96), and good for 18th in the NHL among goalies with at least 13 games played (the number Šilovs has played in). For the most part, it’s been a solid first full season in the NHL. We know he can perform in big moments – he had some great playoff showings in 2023-24 with Vancouver and had five shutouts en route to the Calder Cup last year.

The most promising of the bunch, though, might be Murashov. The 21-year-old came over to North America last year and put up a 12-3-0 record in the AHL. It was only a matter of time until the Penguins gave Murashov a chance, given his minor-league dominance. He nabbed a shutout in his second NHL start, proving many people right. While he currently sits with a 1-1-1 record, he boasts a solid 1.38 GSAx at 5-on-5. For a rookie goalie with a small sample size, that’s nothing to scoff at. His play in the AHL has been downright remarkable, with an 8-2-0 record, two shutouts, and a .943 save percentage through 11 games.

And then there’s Blomqvist. If he’s your third-best goalie prospect, you’re in good shape. The 23-year-old has had his ups and downs the past few years (he even played 15 NHL games last year). But in the AHL, he’s been excellent, boasting a 4-1-0 record with a .930 SV%. Simply put, Blomqvist gives the Baby Penguins a chance to win every single night he plays. He has been great in the minor leagues, and while his numbers in the NHL were nothing to cheer about, he battled hard on a poor team.

The prevailing favorite to become the team’s long-term No. 1 is Murashov, who has been dominant at every level since his Russian junior days. He’s as legit a goaltending prospect as the Penguins have. He doesn’t have much NHL experience, but there’s a pathway forward for him now.

Between them, we’re talking about 51 career regular season starts. That’s how many games Skinner played last year by himself. So asking one of the rookies to steal the job might be asking a lot. But, for a team exceeding all pre-season expectations, why not give them a bit more leeway and see what happens? After seeing the Jarry trade, all three have to be chomping at the bit.

Pittsburgh is second in the Eastern Conference Wildcard race with 35 points. The Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils are tied with them – but they’re also just five points behind the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals for first in the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh is absolutely still in the hunt, yet still pulled the trigger on the deal while Jarry was playing well. It’s unlikely they think Skinner is going to go on a hot run and bring the team to glory. So they must feel their young keepers deserve more playing time, and it’s hard to disagree there.

For now, it feels like Skinner and Šilovs will share the net. But the minute Skinner starts to falter, don’t be surprised to see the Penguins move quickly to send him to the minors, just like they did with Jarry a year ago. Pittsburgh’s depth chart is deep enough that they can experiment with someone like Murashov, or hope Šilovs goes on a long run, and feel more confident than they would with Skinner. Even if he thrives, the Penguins could flip his $2.6 million cap hit to another playoff contender to bring back future assets.

Penguins fans, it’s the start of a new era. With a playoff spot in reach, the young guns can prove themselves now. We can basically write off Skinner at this point. Like Alexandar Georgiev a year ago, Skinner will need a miracle to prove he’s still NHL-caliber. He’s good in spurts – but the Penguins need something sustainable.

And they might have it in one of their young up-and-comers. They just need the opportunity – and that’s right now.

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