On June 20, the Pittsburgh Penguins re-upped the contract of their backup netminder, Alex Nedeljkovic. He signed a two-year deal worth $2.5 million per season, rewarding him for his solid work between the pipes behind starter Tristan Jarry. Combined, that tandem will make $7.875 million against the salary cap through the 2025-26 season.
A 28-year-old backup, Nedeljkovic showed flashes for the Penguins. What does this signing mean for them?
Nedeljkovic Is a High-End Backup
For the Penguins, Nedeljkovic was great as a backup. He had a .902 save percentage (SV%), 2.97 goals-against average (GAA), minus-1.2 goals saved above average (GSAA), and minus-3.9 goals saved above expected along with an 18-7-7 record in 38 games. Those numbers might not look the best, but most backups do worse—with a borderline starter-level workload, he took care of business.
In his first 18 games with the Penguins, Nedeljkovic had a .919 SV%, a 2.54 GAA, 2.0 GSAA, and 4.6 GSAx. It all went a bit downhill for him afterward, but the point stands that he was a very good netminder for a significant portion of the season. If Pittsburgh is getting this version of their backup, there should be no concerns whatsoever.
Fit with Pittsburgh
Assuming he and Jarry can stay healthy, the Penguins should have good goaltending at the very least. That was one of their strengths in 2023-24 despite missing the playoffs, even if their play in goal did regress as a whole as the season went on. With two competent netminders, they probably shouldn’t be in a position where they are in a pickle because they can’t make a save over the course of the season. While goaltending tends to be somewhat unpredictable aside from the truly elite starters in the league, Pittsburgh should be confident with what they have.
With a little bit over $10 million in cap space to spend in the 2024 offseason without a single major free agent to bring back, the Penguins have some flexibility. They can add a quality roster player or some depth throughout the lineup to end their two-year postseason drought—this is the first time that they have missed the playoffs in back-to-back campaigns in Sidney Crosby’s 19-year career in Pittsburgh.
