Mike Sullivan, Alex Nedeljkovic paint Tristan Jarry, Penguins goalie situation in positive light

Alex Nedeljkovic signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2023, the same day the team nailed down a more expensive piece of their puzzle. Tristan Jarry put his signature on a five-year, $26.9 million deal.

The timing is only noteworthy because Nedeljkovic and Jarry, both 28-year-olds who entered the NHL as second-round draft selections, are goaltenders. Good teams usually have two they can trust, but the crease in front of the net has room for only one man at a time.

And despite the differences in their paychecks, it was Nedeljkovic who carried the Penguins through the final 13 dates of this season, starting each game, helping the team win eight while allowing two or fewer goals five times and giving his teammates hope they could make the playoffs.

“I thought Ned played terrific down the stretch,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “That was one of the reasons why we chose to put him in goal. That doesn’t diminish our belief in Tristan, at all. When you look at the body of work those two guys had for a significant amount of the season, their numbers were very respectable and they gave us a chance to win on a lot of nights.”

Beyond their win-loss records — Nedeljkovic went 18-7-7 while Jarry went 19-25-5 — their numbers were almost identical for the season. Jarry’s goals-against average was 2.91 with a save percentage of .903 (both 30th in the league among qualifying goalies). Nedeljkovic was 32nd in both categories (2.97 and .902).

“We chose to go with what we deemed the hot hand down the stretch,” Sullivan continued. “We believe that Tristan is a solid NHL goalie. It’s a credit to Ned that he worked extremely hard and put the work in to be prepared for the opportunity when it came calling. We believe we have a tandem that is very capable.”

For that tandem to stick together next fall, Nedeljkovic would have to re-sign with the Penguins as he hits unrestricted free agency.

While speaking to reporters Thursday on the day after the last game of the season, the native of Parma, Ohio, indicated that sharing a locker room with Jarry and the Penguins isn’t a bad way to make a living.

“I had a great time. Everybody got along with everybody, and we had great chemistry on the ice,” he said. “Obviously, this last month we were playing some really great hockey, and I think that goes hand in hand with how things off the ice are going. I think if you’ve got, like I said, good chemistry, good relationships with everybody, it’s really easy to want to play for the guy next to you and have fun and come to the rink and be excited about coming to the rink.

“I don’t have (a) problem coming back and running it back together (with Jarry). I think we pushed each other, we competed hard, and we brought the best out of each other. And he’s a great friend. Nothing that’s gone on in the past couple of weeks has changed that. Nothing that’s going on at all during the year has changed that.

“I think you need to have a good relationship with your partner, and that’s exactly what we have. So, I think it’d be great not only for the two of us, but I think for everybody in the room to have us both back.”

Serving as a spectator and goaltender insurance for the final month wasn’t Jarry’s first choice, but he accepted the situation.

“It’s tough. You obviously want to be out there. You want to be battling with them. You want to be a part of it,” he said. “I think the best thing that I could do in that situation was just be a good teammate, help Ned as much as I could. He did a great job. He won us a lot of games. He put us in a really good position. Ultimately he gave us a chance at the end.”

Jarry believes he can play better than he did this season. After all, his career-best GAA is 2.42, set in 2021-22, and his best save percentage is .921 in 2019-20.

“There were some stretches (this season) I thought could be better,” he said. “There were some stretches to learn from, obviously. I was healthy the whole year. I was able to be available for every game. That was a step in the right direction.”