Since free agency opened on July 1, roster movement has slowed down a bit for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ general manager, Kyle Dubas. He made a bit of noise to open up free agency by signing Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau, while also acquiring some heavy hitters on the blue line in Matt Dumba and Connor Clifton via trade. The Penguins had a logjam of goaltending options. Between Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic, Joel Blomqvist, Sergei Murashov, and Filip Larsson, they may have even had too many options to look at heading into the 2025-26 season. After shedding Nedeljkovic’s contract in a trade to the San Jose Sharks, it seemed as though it would be a tandem of Jarry and one of Blomqvist or Murashov.
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On July 13, in a turn of events, things became confusing as Dubas acquired another young goaltender in Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks. Already having three young netminders in the organization that could make the jump to the NHL, it did not seem ti make a whole lot of sense to bring in another. Looking at it more, however, it actually is logical. With the acquisition of Silovs, there are a few scenarios that could happen, but we will not know which one will be most likely until puck drop on the new season.
Scenario One: Jarry and Silovs Tandem
The first — and possibly most-likely scenario — that comes from this is having a tandem of Jarry and Silovs. This would give Blomqvist and Murashov more time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (WBS) to take their games to an even higher level. We saw how incredible Murashov was last season between WBS and their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. For him, it would be just another step in the right direction for his development. His time in the AHL and ECHL was nothing short of spectacular. He put up a 2.64 goals-against average (GAA) and a .913 save percentage (SV%) as a 20-year-old. No surprise to anyone, his numbers in the ECHL were even better with a 2.40 GAA and .922 SV%.
For Blomqvist, while it may not be ideal for him to be in the AHL again with this good of a chance at taking a full-time NHL spot and having to fight for a job with Murashov and Larsson, it could do wonders for his game. Under a deteriorated Pittsburgh team, it seemed like he lost some of the confidence he had during his first stint in the NHL. By no means was he terrible, seeing as he had a .900 SV% or above in seven of the 15 games he played with Pittsburgh, but playing behind as bad a defense as the Penguins had did not help much with boosting his confidence.
There were quite a few times he had to bail his team out, just as any goalie does, but also allowed some soft goals that should never go in. Is there an expectation for him to be perfect on a nightly basis? Absolutely not. He showed the compete in his game constantly and it needs to continue to be there night in and night out. He can’t do it alone, however; the players in front of him need to be able to step up and help out. Without a team effort, the compete isn’t there and the Penguins would be back in the same position they were last season.
The Penguins not icing a strong team brings me to the second reason a Jarry and Silovs tandem wouldn’t be a bad idea. If the Penguins were to have as bad of a season as they did in the 2024-25 season and “tank” as I have seen some fans say they want to happen in hopes of landing consensus first-overall 2026 NHL Entry Draft pick Gavin McKenna, having Jarry and Silovs as their tandem is the best-case scenario. With Jarry’s confidence and play already at an all-time low, there would be no pressure on him whatsoever. There would be no high expectations of him to have a standout season, nor would anyone even expect him to be average.
We know what his injury history is like, so that could be part of the reason for his bad play over the last few seasons. Though we can speculate on the reason for his play being down, it could be a benefit to him and the Penguins this season. Having zero pressure on him would mean he can just play his game without people expecting much from him, even though not many expect a whole lot to begin with. The benefit this would cause is that they would have a goalie boosting his trade stock before the trade deadline in hopes of getting a bit more back than they would now.
Silovs is coming into a situation that has good and bad parts. The good is that he has the chance to battle for the starting job or backup role right out of training camp and preseason. The bad is that he is fighting for the starting job on a team that is almost primed to miss out the playoffs again. However, this team, in Dubas’ eyes, should at the very least have a competitive edge to it with the physicality and grit they’ve added.
Between regular season and playoffs, Silovs has 29 games under his belt, just 14 more games than Blomqvist. That is not a lot of time in the crease at all, but 10 of those games came during the 2023-24 Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s not just that he has playoff experience, but he was solid in the games he played. In six of the 10 games, he had a .900 SV% or above. Not to mention, he just led the Abbotsford Canucks to their franchise’s first Calder Cup less than a month ago. That playoff experience should have his game at another level compared to Blomqvist and Murashov. If the season does not go well for him, it wouldn’t hurt him too much as he is still a young goaltender that could play in the minors if needed. The Penguins benefit from this pickup as they did shed some money to bring on a contract that is worth less and could easily be moved.
Scenario Two: Jarry Gets Traded, Silovs and Blomqvist Hold Things Down
Chatting on social media indicates that some people want to see Jarry traded and believe he will be at some point this season. Jeff Marek has floated the idea around about the possibility of the Edmonton Oilers taking a look at Jarry to help solve their issues in the crease, mentioning “it would certainly take some retention on the Pittsburgh side of things.” They are in a spot where they could retain some of Jarry’s contract to make it happen. If this scenario were to come true, there is no doubt they would have to retain some money on his contract, no matter the team or when he is traded. Teams may be desperate for a goalie, but they will be sure not to take on his full contract.
The likelihood Jarry is traded sooner rather than later is truly unknown, given how tight-lipped Dubas likes to be when it comes to these things. But for this scenario’s sake, let’s say Jarry is traded before the 2025-26 season, or even at the beginning of the season. This would leave a big decision on which two goalies the Penguins have on their roster. One would have to think it would be a Silovs/Blomqvist tandem as both have NHL experience and are a bit older than Murashov. The next thing they would need to sort out is who looked better in training camp and preseason, who is on the right path in their development, and who needs to be developed more. Surely all three can and should be developed further in the AHL, but that isn’t possible to do in the team’s current situation. Leaving Murashov to continue to do his thing with WBS would be the smart thing to do should this scenario arise. At just 21 years old, he has a long, successful career ahead of him.
The Penguins could show Blomqvist they fully have faith in him should Jarry be traded. It’s known which goalies are the Penguins; future, but the question needing to be answered is who would run away with it? Blomqvist would have no option than to prove to everyone he is capable of being a true NHL starter. In some fans’ minds, he left a few doubts of being the true starting goalie everyone hoped and wished he would be. Those fans need to remember where the team is at and that he has not played many games in the NHL, though. Being in his position isn’t easy, especially on the mental side of things.
Throwing two netminders in Silovs and Blomqvist, who have a combined 44 games played, would put them in a tough spot. Despite that, it could grow their confidence that the coaching staff and management have enough belief in both of them to carry the load.
Scenario Three: Jarry/Silovs Get Waived, Murashov and Blomqvist Become the Tandem
This is by far the least likely of the scenarios, but we will entertain it anyway. Having already been waived once last season, it wouldn’t be shocking if Jarry does get waived at some point this season, should he still be with the team. We could also see Silovs play just as badly, forcing Dubas’ hand to try a tandem of Murashov and Blomqvist in the NHL. If this scenario were to happen, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them split time 50/50, or Murashov run away with the opportunity at hand, seeing he did so last season when called up to the AHL. With that said, it would be a massive gamble to play two goaltenders with little-to-no NHL experience who they have high expectations for in the future. It’s always good to remember anything can happen in an 82-game season and to always expect the unexpected.
The Penguins have a few different ways they can go with their goaltending situation this season. It will be interesting to see which direction they choose, but it won’t be surprising to see Jarry and Silovs as the one-two combination to at least begin the season. Whether those changes come later in the season, possibly around the trade deadline, things very well could be different with a Murashov/Blomqvist tandem to end the season at the very least. Either way, the Penguins have a decent way to go to get back to being a Stanley Cup contender, and each goalie will have to prove they can be the one to take this team to that point.
