The Penguins moved out Jake Guentzel last night and it appears he won’t be the only rental on the move. Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that they’re likely to move goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic before the 2 PM CT deadline.
Nedeljkovic spent most of last year in the minors but has been a full-timer with Pittsburgh this season, faring relatively well in the backup role. Through 21 games so far this season, the 28-year-old has a 2.87 GAA and a .908 SV%, his best numbers since his rookie campaign back in 2020-21.
While the goalie market has had a few big names in there, talk of some of those names moving has started to die off. Instead, the goalies that move might be short-term rentals and Nedeljkovic on an expiring $1.5MM contract fits right into that category. There are playoff-bound teams that could use an upgrade at the backup goalie position and he would fit the bill so GM Kyle Dubas should be able to find a suitable return for his services.
While not consequential after the 23-player roster limit that was lifted this morning, they also cleared a roster spot by placing winger Jansen Harkins on injured reserve, per CapFriendly. The 26-year-old winger has just four points in 43 games this season and did not return to last night’s game against the Capitals after a fight.
Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that forwards Valtteri Puustinen, Joona Koppanen, and Jonathan Gruden were all assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Those moves were needed to get them back into salary cap compliance after losing Guentzel’s LTIR buffer in the swap yesterday. Puustinen has played in 31 games with Pittsburgh so far this season, notching 13 points and seems like a likely candidate to be recalled after the trade deadline if they have cap room. Gruden, meanwhile, has a goal in nine NHL appearances while Koppanen has been held off the scoresheet in his four contests.
Ned likes strong defenses in front of him.